Christmas Break
by AwesomeZombieSlayerGRL
Summary: Andi gets a little more than she bargained for when she wanted an interesting break
1. Christmas Break Ch 1

Ch. 1

Well, it all started out in the kitchen. Hard to believe this kind thing had actually began there. Not the ideal place for when crazy baddies plan to take over the world or when random characters start popping out of your TV. But if they wanted food…

To start off, I'm not some kind of person who has all these crazy powers or connections to these powerful people around, y'know, shit like that. I am just your average teenage girl trying to find her place in life. Find a job, get into a decent college, and get a hold of a guy who genuinely cares about me. Just something.

I never once thought that I would add "save the world from crazy-assed video game baddies" to the list too.

Hopefully, I'll get everything else done before I conquer that one…

So, we were already on Christmas break: my parents were out on a prolonged business trip and my eldest brother and sister were in Seattle, "studying abroad". My parents totally bought that crap even though I tried to explain to them that they just wanted go to our cousin's amazing house up in Seattle and drive down to Port Angeles where, according to my sister, "there are extremely hot guys and this kick ass party and everybody's going… Well except you, sis, you'll be left home _alone."_ When she had said that, dear god! I wanted to punch the crap out of her but I did not want to give my parents the excuse to send me to Mom's sister's house (that place is a death trap, sucks the life right out of you).

I tried to tell my parents that my brother and sister weren't going to keep up with their studies; they were just going to party for the month that they were off up there. My sister gave me the shut-the-hell-up look and my brother made up some lame assed excuse and the next thing I know, I'm in an empty house with my parents gone and my siblings wandering around in another state, doing god knows what.

Now, here's where I would have had the opportunity of a lifetime to throw a big house party. Hah, already had a bad experience with that one. Ended up with some drunk guy hitting on me and the cops called. Not planning on doing that again.

It was already the second day of break and I was bored out of my mind.

All of my friends were on vacation in Europe or helping out kids in Africa while I was stuck at home, doing nothing. I had already completed more than half the games that my brother and I shared prior to the three weeks off and the house was spotless, therefore there was no point in even cleaning it. So that day, I decided to put a new game into my Xbox 360. My dad picked up it for me the day before he left.

It was the most recent game Ubisoft had released: Revelations! God, I couldn't wait to play it. Especially after watching the trailer. I had just managed to play for a few hours when an enormous thunderclap smacked the house. The windows shook and the lights flickered off and on for awhile before they were stable.

"Damn," I muttered and walked over to my window. I looked out and saw that it was pissing rain. I stood there for a moment, with my game paused in the background, when something clicked in my head. "Oh, shit! The turtles!"

We have a pair of tortoises that a friend of ours gave to us a few years back. We kept them in the backyard. And I had to get them inside the house before their little den flooded from all the rain. I raced down the stairs, slipped on one, and shoved on my sandals.

When I reached the back door, I didn't bother with an umbrella. I would need both of my hands free to carry these guys. I shoved open the slider and ran out into the rain. Our backyard wasn't enormous (we were lucky that we didn't live in a condo where all the backyards had to be the same size; we liked big backyards) but it wasn't tiny either. We had a pool with a net covering it to keep out the debris, two pomegranate trees growing on opposite sides of the house, and a bonfire pit that was currently overflowing with water.

Half of the yard was concrete, like around the pool, and the side of the house was filled with neatly trimmed grass.

I leapt out and covered my head with my arm, looking for the turtles. Finally, I found them hiding underneath one of the palm trees. I picked them up gently and hunched over, carrying them both close to my chest to keep them out of the rain. I headed inside and placed a couple of towels in the bathroom floor. Then, I set them down carefully and put in food and water.

I turned off the lights and walked over to the slider to close it when suddenly, a lightning bolt flashed overhead. I jumped back and landed on the floor. "What the hell! What kind of storm is this?" I asked the empty house. The only response I got was the pitter-patter of rain on the roof and the rumble of thunder in the distance.

I got up and walked over to the front door and looked outside: one of the transformers on the telephone poles was sparking like it was the fourth of July. "That can't be good," I muttered and closed the door just as the wind began to pick up. I flipped out my cell phone and made a quick call to the electric company just to let them know that we had a "sparky" situation. I didn't say those exact words because I knew I would sound like a complete moron. The woman on the other line told me that she would send someone out to fix it then the line disconnected.

I heaved a bored sigh, walked back up the stairs to charge my phone, and came back down.

The game upstairs was all but forgotten as I went into the kitchen to wash the dishes I had left over from last night's dinner and today's lunch. I had Itunes on while I cleaned up. Believe by The Bravery was playing and I was humming along with it just as something _thumped!_ upstairs. I ignored it thinking it was just someone next door closing a cabinet or something.

"Something's always coming. You can hear it in the ground.

It swells into the air with a rising, rising sound.

It never comes but shakes the boards and rattles all the doors."

I sang at the top of my lungs, kind of screwing water from the faucet grew hot and as I went rinse one of the plates, I jerked my hand back and shook it off but was still singing.

"What're we waiting for? What're we waiting…"

My voice faltered. That's when I became aware of someone watching me.

I turned to look out the doorway to the kitchen, my heart pounding like hell. He stood in the entryway, just staring at me. _Holy mother-fucking god!_ I thought as I stood there frozen in place. The faucet was still running. Steam beginning to rise up from the bottom making me conscious that time hadn't stopped.

My hands were still frozen from when I was shaking them off. I couldn't move because the man right in front could not exist. It just was not possible.

He was the Master Assassin. The main protagonist in the last three games: Ezio Auditore.

And he was standing in my house. _What the crap?!_

We both stood there, staring at each other. He watched me with a resigned expression, his eyes hidden under his cloak. I eyed him warily when Cobrastyle started._ Well, talk about perfect timing_, I thought because I was trying to hatch an escape plan.

There were two doorways to the kitchen. If I made a run for the one closest to me and then suddenly switch to the other one, I would be able to slip out and run like hell from this phantom. I just hoped it worked.

I turned slowly to face him, gathering up my courage… And bolted. He reacted, just as I thought he would. _Buuuut_ he didn't go around to the other entrance to block me off. He ran straight at me. "Oh, fuck!" I cursed under my breath and ran for the slider.

I threw it open, the assassin right on me. I slipped on the grass but managed to regain my footing and headed towards the pool. I sprinted across the netting, water seeping into the edges that I managed to give to the pool below.

It was still raining, making things a little slippery, but that was no problem to the assassin. He glided over the slick yard with the ease and grace of a dancer. I couldn't pause to admire that as I ran over to the wall that was about twenty feet from the pool and ran up it. He paused when he reached the pool, just as I was scrambling over the brick wall that separated our yard from the one next to it. As I got over to the top, I swung my legs over and looked behind me to see him jump over the pool and land neatly on the other side.

I cursed again and tried to lower myself onto the ground below. _Damn, I should've worn something!_ I scolded myself for my feet were struggling to find purchase on the smooth wall and it was maybe about eight feet down to the ground. It would hurt. _I really, _really_ should have thought this thing out_, I thought again.

I looked over my shoulder and heard growling: it was my neighbor's Rottweiler, Suzie. She's not as harmless as her name makes her out to be because she's an absolute bitch of a dog. No pun intended.

She got up from her mat by the back door and was growling louder, almost like she was possessed, hair rising up on the back of her neck, teeth bared at me.

"Shit," I muttered, "Ok, despite having a damned video game character on the other side of this wall, I have a crazy possessed dog right here who looks like she wants to have me for dinner. Doggie you can't reason with… a fif-sixteenth century- I don't care!- assassin on the other hand, you can. My choices are limited," I muttered sarcastically.

Groaning, I watched the dog slowly advance on me.

Then, she charged. "Holy crap!" I shrieked and tried to pull myself up.

Suddenly, my arms were taken hold of and I was swung over onto the other side and landed in heap on the grass-

With our friend hovering right over me with his blade grazing my neck. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take it easy there pal," I said nervously, my hands up in surrender.

"Why did you run?" he ordered.

I looked at him as though he had asked me what my favorite color was (it's blue, by the way) and laughed uneasily.

"Wh-why did I run? Well that's obvious-" I began but stopped when he pressed the blade closer to my neck.

"I r-ran because y-you scared m-me," I stuttered out.

"Damned good reason too," he muttered.

"Wh-wh-what?" I asked him confused. That's when he gestured to my shirt. I looked down.

It bore the Templar symbol, a bold red cross on the front. I had gotten it from a comic con last year.

It clicked in my head: he thought I was a Templar.

"W-wait a second. I'm not a templar!"

"Then why do you bear their symbol?"

"This?" I asked and tugged at the edges of my now wet shirt. The assassin glared at me and I withered under his gaze. "I b-bought it at a, uh, store," I said. He looked at me, like he didn't comprehend what I was saying. Couldn't really blame the guy. Here he was in a foreign land with a girl who wore templar gear for fun.

"Please don't kill me," I whimpered.

He hesitated for a moment and looked away from me. I watched him warily. As I turned my neck to glance at something nearby, the movement shifted his blade on my neck and his gaze immediately fixed on me. I stopped.

He held me with the one golden eye that I could see and said, "I will not kill you. You may know more about this land but do NOT try to run away again for it will end badly."

An argument perched on the tip of my tongue but I squashed it. I didn't want to piss him off again. He got up and held out a hand to me. I hesitated before I took it. I looked up at him. The old assassin wore a look the let years of experience play across it.

I tentatively held out my hand and he took it, hoisting me to my feet. The rain was still falling, but old Ezzy here did not really notice. He was too busy looking around my yard.

"_Dove sono?"_ he asked. I looked at him.

"'Scuse me?" I replied. Auditore turned to look at me and I saw a slight smile on his weathered face.

_"Mi dispiace_. I'm sorry. I forgot you do not speak _Italiano_ here," he apologized.

_ "_It's alright," I replied, "I've been meaning to take lessons. What was it that you asked?"

"Where I am?"

"Oh, um…" I paused for a moment. "Well, you're in the Americas…" I had no idea on how to continue. Ezio cocked his head to the side and nodded. Almost as if he was acting like he understood but did not want me to think him an idiot.

A raindrop fell into my eye. I blinked. "Um, _signore_? I'm pronouncing that right?" I asked. He nodded. "Would you like to head inside? It's getting a little cold out here."

"_Si, _please."

"Now_ that_ one I understood," I replied and laughed. He chuckled a little and I led him to my house.

"By the way, I never got your name," Auditore asked.

I looked up at him. "My name's Andrea. Call me 'Andi' for short," I replied, "And you are…?"

"Ezio Auditore."

I reached the slider and opened it to allow him inside and shut it closed behind me.

I didn't hit the locking mechanism though. I was afraid that he would think it a trap and attack me again.

I looked up and watched him wander the house. He took off his hood, revealing gray-tinged hair underneath. Its original brown nearly sucked dry of its youthful luster. Then, I became aware of a constant _drip drip drip_ sound and looked down. There was a puddle forming at my feet and my clothes were soaked.

I bit the bottom of my lip. I knew I had to take a quick shower before I caught a cold but I really didn't like the idea of leaving Signore _assassino _unsupervised in my house but…

"U-umm…" I started. The noise was loud enough for him to turn around. He looked at me as if waiting for me to continue. I cleared my throat.

"Do you mind if I take a shower right now? I'm kind of cold and I don't want to catch a bug or something."

"A bug?"

"A, uh, cold. A sickness," I explained.

He nodded his head and I walked calmly over to the stairs, both of us watching each other. I gave him a sheepish smile before vaulting up the stairs.

When I reached to the top floor, I heaved a huge sigh and shook my head. That's when I heard what sounded like sinister laughter nearby and looked up.

A man with a bald head, really bad teeth, and a scar down one side of his face stood in the doorway to my bedroom. I stopped. He wore templar armor. The symbol on his chest was a dead giveaway.

"Oh, fuck me," I muttered.

This was Leandros. And I did NOT like the way he was looking at me.

This three week vacation was going to be very interesting.


	2. Christmas Break Ch 2

Ch. 2

He smiled and that's when I saw the other Byzantine-Templar guys coming forward out of the other rooms. I let out a shriek and stumbled down the stairs.

I slipped on the last stair and scrambled to my feet. Not looking where I was going, I ran headlong into my guest. Ezio stopped me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked. I swallowed before answering. "L-Leandros is upstairs with a bunch of Byzantines," I rushed out.

The assassin cursed under his breath and took a look at the stairwell.

"And here I thought I killed him," he muttered.

Something creaked upstairs. We both froze and looked up at the ceiling. The floor above us was casually squeaking as though the Templars was merely stopping to look around the room, taking note of all its articles.

It grew closer and we saw Leandros stroll down the second set of stairs.

He stopped on the platform and gave us an arrogant smile.

"This modern world will be perfect to rule," he began.

"That won't be happening," Ezio growled back. Leandros began again but I wasn't listening. I was hearing slight pops all over the house.

I had left my game paused upstairs when that lightning bolt struck. I had a feeling that that was what caused all this. I couldn't really think longer on it for Ezio was placing himself between me and the templar. The movement shook me out of my reverie and turned to look behind me.

"Ezio, stop!" I hissed.

His head turned a fraction in my direction. "Listen," I continued, "I need to head back outside. I have to get into my room before more of these guys show up."

"_Che_ _cosa?"_ he asked quietly. I gave him a look that meant "I don't what the hell you're saying so speak English!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Don't lecture me!" I hissed.

"What?"

"I _need_ to head outside to get around these guys and climb onto the awning. From there I can get inside my room and shut off the game upstairs to keep the Byzantines from coming in."

The assassin nodded and reached into a pouch on his belt. I eyed the other Byzantines around us as they slowly closed in. Then I saw what Ezzy held in his hand. It was a bomb. "God, I hope that thing works," I muttered.

"Don't worry. It will."

"You sound awfully confident."

I looked up and saw Leandros twitch his gloved hand in our direction. His men moved in for the kill. Ezio slammed the bomb onto the ground.

A cloud of thick black smoke enveloped the room. Coughing sounded all over. I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face.

"Come on!" I heard Ezio say and I was yanked out the smoke and into the backyard. "Find them!" I heard the templar leader call out hoarsely.

"Craaaap!" I muttered as Auditore and I tore across the grass to the awning near the right side of the house. When we reached it, a few of the Byzantines were already heading out the door. I slid to a stop and looked around to see if there was anything to slow them down. Something caught my eye.

The black butt of a gun was sticking out from under a fern.

I grabbed it. It was one of my brother's discarded paintball guns. And it was loaded with pink paint.

"Oh this should be fun," I said to myself and held up the gun at our pursuers. They faltered a little. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ezio look at me. I gave him a slight smile.

"Oh, don't worry. This will more humiliate them then really _hurt_ them. Well, actually scratch that. This will hurt."

I pulled the trigger. I was glad that this thing was an automatic for it fired like crazy. I mainly took aim at the Templars' uncovered faces. They held up their arms to protect themselves from the oncoming pink fire. The chamber clicked empty and I hurriedly looked around for a fresh click. Another magazine was lying near the pool's water meter.

"Why have I never seen these lying around earlier?" I asked myself and picked it up.

This one was filled with multiple colors. I slammed it in and headed over to Auditore. "_Dio, _you're a _strano_ _ragazza_," he said when I joined him.

"Um, I'm just going to nod and act like I understood that. Could you give me a boost?" He nodded and laced his fingers. I took hold of the upper part of the awning and Ezio lifted me up. I pulled myself up and glanced back at the assassin, just as more Byzantines showed up.

"Go! I'll hold them off. I'll be there in a moment!" he called to me. I nodded and ran across the awning to my window. A bullet shot cracked one of the planks of wood near my foot.

"Fucking son of a bitch!" I yelled and looked at the man who had tried to shoot me. Leandros was reloading for another shot. "What the FUCK man?!" I screamed at him. "Are you _trying _tokill me?"

"Yes, I am," the templar replied and took aim but I fired first. The paint struck him square in the face. He dropped his gun and tried to rub the paint out of his eyes. "Try shooting me now, bitch!" I yelled but halted my victory dance. Another Byzantine was taking aim at me and I didn't have time to cover him with paint.

"Ah, shit," I muttered to myself and kept my head down as I ran to my window. Another gunshot rang out and I covered my head and ducked instinctively. I paused for a moment, realizing that my head wasn't smeared all over the wall. I turned around in time to see the Byzantine who tried to take aim at me fall to the ground.

A clicking mechanism sounded nearby and I saw Ezio reload the pistol that was connected to his bracer. "_Cazzo_," I muttered to myself, saying aloud one of the few curse words I knew.

I hurried to my window and slammed the butt of the gun into the screen. Wood creaked behind me and I twisted around to see Ezio come over.

"I take it you've done this sort of thing before?" he asked gesturing to the now bent screen.

"Uh, yeah. Just without all these guys shooting at me."

Ezio nodded and I pried the screen off the window. I threw it down next to me before continuing.

"My sister and I used to sneak out all the time when she was not that much older than me. I was probably about twelve, maybe thirteen, when she taught me the 'Art of Sneaking Out'. It was normally to keep me from telling Mom that she was sneaking off to parties in the middle of the night. Heh, I only made it to the end of our street before chickening out and running back home before I got in trouble." I laughed to myself.

I climbed over the sill and into my room. The TV screen was flashing like it does whenever I accidently switch over onto the "white noise channel". I bit my lip and hurried to turn the power off. I pressed the eject button on my console and yanked out the disc before turning that off as well.

"God, I just hope I was in time," I whispered to myself.

"In time for what?" I heard Ezio say behind me.

"I hope I was in time to keep out all the other bad guys from coming in here," I replied.

I opened my mouth to throw out my theory of how this all started when I heard knocking downstairs. I looked back at Ezio, as if I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The knocking grew more insistent.

"Coming!" I yelled and took off down the hallway with Ezio in tow.

I reached the door and slid the chain lock in place before opening it. In the entryway stood my neighbor, Mrs. Greensborough.

"Ah, Mrs. G. What're you doing here?" I asked in cheerful tone. I heard Ezio chuckle behind the door and I slammed my heel onto his foot. He grunted and I forced a wider smile.

"Oh, Andi. I just came over because I heard quite a ruckus over here and I wanted to see if everything was okay," she said.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, and because I just saw you hanging over my side of the wall frightening poor Suzie and then suddenly you were pulled back over."

Did I forget to mention that this lady owned that crazy-assed dog that tried to kill me? And she thought _I_ was frightening…

"Oh, I apologize for scaring your dog," I told her, "It won't happen again." _Well, I think little Suzie may be able to keep it quiet that I'm going to be secretly torturing her._

I was going to get my revenge on that dog whether her owner approved of it or not.

"What _were_ you doing hanging on that side of wall anyway?" she asked.

"Oh… I was, uh… just…" I didn't know what to tell her. I couldn't possibly say that I had a video game assassin chase after me and then have video game baddies try to kill me. That would most likely result in me placed in a loony bin.

"We-I… We were reenacting a scene from a, uh, movie," I rushed out.

"'We' who, honey?" Mrs. G asked.

"Uh… um…"

I heard him clear his throat behind me. I rolled my eyes to high heaven.

Ezio walked out from behind the door into my neighbor's sight.

"Oh-oh…" she stuttered.

Ezio took off his hood so he seemed less threatening.

"I was helping Andi here with a, ah, school project," Ezio explained. All Mrs. G could do was nod. This guy was a work of art. Pushing fifty and still had a way with the ladies.

I rolled my eyes. "And who is this gentleman?" Mrs. G asked.

"Oh, him?" I asked nonchalantly, "He's my uncle… Marco." That earned a glare from Ezio. I just shrugged.

Mrs. G nodded automatically. "From which side? I can't recall your mother or father ever mentioning a brother," she said distractedly.

"I believe he's my dad's step-brother. I can't exactly remember. Family trees being extensive and all," I explained. God, in her state, I could say anything and she would not hear me.

"Oh really? He sure has interesting clothes." _Oh, I'm sure he does,_ I thought.

"Yes, he does. He's supposed to be helping me make a costume for my project. It's going to look similar to his."

"_Si, _Andi has been pestering me about it for ages," Uncle "Marco" explained. Did I also mention that this man was a gifted actor as well?

"You're Italian?" Mrs. G asked, "What a coincidence because I…" I closed the door before she could continue. "Uh huh, yeah. Sure you are," I scoffed.

I looked up to see Ezio eying the door. "Do not even _think_ about," I told him. He looked at me.

"Think about what, _bambina?" _he asked innocently.

"She's _married_," I said slowly. The assassin just shook his head and laughed. I glared at him. He held up his hands in surrender.

"_Va bene, va bene_. I won't do anything," he told me.

I gave him a look. "Ugh, your character…!" I moaned. I was about to start ranting when we heard groaning coming from the game room near the back slider. Ezio began to walk slowly towards the sound with me right behind him.

We reached the game room and saw Leandros still trying to clean the multi-colored paint off his face. He looked like a clown from hell. He was standing in front of the mirror when we neared him. He turned around; a look of shock crossed his face.

He didn't have time to say anything for Ezio had rushed forward, his hidden blade glinting brightly in the dying light. The man crumpled and the assassin lowered him onto the ground. "There will be more coming," Leandros said hoarsely, "They will come and will never stop until they have what they came for…" His voice dropped off. He was dead. I hadn't realized that my hands had flown to my mouth, to cover a slight gasp that tried to escape my throat, when my breath grew too hot on my face.

For the longest time I had performed that move in the comfort and safety of my own reality. Now it had happened right in front of me.

I just couldn't believe it.

"_Requiescat en pace,"_ I heard him say as he closed Leandros' eyes. He rose and turned to face me. His face fell when he saw that I had watched him perform an assassination. He took a step forward.

I backed off. Ezio stopped. He held up his hands. "Andi, it's alright," Ezio said softly to me. His movements were slow and steady, his hands always within my line of sight. He moved cautiously towards me, as if I were a skittish animal. Like I might run off somewhere.

But where would I run to? I couldn't go to the cops; they wouldn't believe me…

He must have momentarily forgotten that I was there, never thinking of how that action would affect me. Ezio's hood was still off and I could multiple expressions playing across his face, none lingering too long. But the one that kept showing up was worry. His golden-grey eyes softened a little, tracking my shock-frozen movements.

I backed up again when he came near, and then I just couldn't move anymore. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer when Ezio's arms encircled me. He brought me close and stroked my hair. He whispered assurances to me, always keeping Leandros' limp body out of my sight.

I closed my eyes, feeling them burning, threatening to spill over; my hands still up by my mouth and I leaned my head into his chest. I curled my hands into weak fists and the stupid tears rolled down my face.

"_Va tutto bene, Andi. Sta andando tutto bene,"_ he murmured. I sniffled and shook my head. He pulled me tighter. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "I… I have to get a tissue," I muttered hoarsely. Ezio loosened his grip on me.

Before he let go, he ran his thumb under my eyes to wipe off some of the tears that were still rolling down my face. Then, I walked off to the bathroom.

I closed the door and placed my hands on the cold vanity top and dropped my head. The tears came again. I gulped down the air and looked up at the mirror. My face was blotchy, with red patches on my cheeks and nose. My brown-green eyes were bloodshot. I sniffed, my nose stuffed.

"God, what the _fuck_ have you gotten yourself into Andi?" I asked myself. "Hell, I don't know," I answered my reflection. My auburn hair was spilling out from my hastily pulled up ponytail. My bangs fell down in my face, something my mother _absolutely _hated.

I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto my face. It felt good, refreshing. I wiped my face on one of the towels we had in the bathroom and blew my nose on some toilet paper.

I didn't want to leave my private bubble of stability and peace, but I knew Ezio was out there, wondering if I was okay. My shoulders fell slightly because I didn't know what to decide: whether to stay in here longer or head out and face the assassin.

What _had_ I gotten myself into?


	3. Christmas Break Ch 3

Ch. 3

I just wanted to curl up on the floor and sleep the rest of break, but I knew I couldn't do that. I heaved a sigh. A knock sounded on the door startling me. "Andi is-are you alright?" I heard Ezio ask. I placed a hand on my chest and willed my heart to slow down. "Um," I cleared my throat, "Yeah, everything's okay. Look, I'll be out in a sec."

I took a deep breath and opened up the door. Ezio stood down at the end of the hallway, hands behind his back. I flipped off the light and walked towards him. He placed a hand on my shoulder and walked out with me.

I looked at the clock that hung over the fireplace in the living room. It was 8:30 p.m. I wanted to sleep but my stomach said otherwise. It growled loudly. Ezio laughed a little. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and glared at him. "I can't help it if I'm hungry," I said.

"Well, there's always a solution to that," he replied. We walked past the game room. Ezio angled me away from it but paused for a moment.

"_Ma che diavolo_?" I heard him say. I looked over his arm. Leandros was no longer there. Neither were the Byzantines out in the backyard. "You didn't move them?" I asked. He shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. How could they have just disappeared?

We stood there a moment longer before I pulled him off to the kitchen. I turned on the lights and opened up one of the cabinets. I took a look at its contents. "Well, the only kind of dinner that I have managed to perfect is, ah, spaghetti," I said from inside the cabinets, "So, ah, would you care to have any?"

Ezio smiled slightly. "_Si,_ that would lovely."

I pulled out the pasta pot and filled it about halfway with water. Then, I turned on the front burner and placed the pot on there. I waited for awhile until it was boiling and poured in the pasta. That took about thirty minutes. Then, I opened up a can of tomato sauce and placed it on another burner.

I stirred the pasta and pulled out a strand. I held it gingerly for it was very hot.

Ezio was watching me curiously. "Dare I even ask what it is that you are doing?" he asked.

"Well, I want to see if it's done, so I took out one piece of pasta and am going to throw on the ceiling to see if it sticks. If it sticks, it's done. If it doesn't, we have a little while to go," I explained.

"Ah, _vedo_," he replied.

"Okay, here goes," I muttered and threw the strand up in the air. It hit the ceiling-

And stuck. I watched, warily, to see if it would fall down. It didn't. "And the verdict is: it's ready," I said. I jumped up to try to get the pasta strand down, but came up short. I jumped again, hands outstretched.

I glared at the ceiling. "Need a little help?" Ezio asked. I shook my head and jumped again. I heard him get up from the chair at the table. He walked over to me and reached up and took the pasta strand down from the ceiling. He held it out to me with a content look on his face. I grabbed the piece of pasta from his hand and threw it in the sink.

I opened up another cabinet and looked for the deep-dished plates. I found them at the back and pulled them carefully out. Then, after setting them down, I turned off the burner for the tomato sauce and drained the pasta. I poured two helpings onto his plate and one and a quarter onto mine.

"Just tell me when," I said to him when I began to pour the tomato sauce over his plate. He nodded and took his plate while I poured a decent amount onto mine. I pulled out two pairs of forks and knives and set my plate on the table.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked him.

"I would ask for wine, but I'm assuming there is none?"

Well, there _was_ a bottle of Cabernet in the back of the cupboard above the microwave but I shook my head. "Water, then," he told me. I poured two glasses and handed him his. We ate in relative silence after that.

After nearly finishing my plate, another knock sounded at my door. I rose up to go answer it. Ezio rose as well.

I looked at him. "Stay," I ordered. He gave me a look and I shook my head. The person knocked again and I rushed over, opening the door. It was my on-again-off-again-boyfriend, Marcus. "A-ah, oh. Marcus, hi," I greeted him. He smiled. Marcus was a seventeen year-old boy who made the varsity baseball team his freshman year, had dirty blonde hair, tanned skin, and green-blue eyes. He also had a pleasant personality.

Only when he was sober.

He had his baseball bat swung over shoulder. _Must've just come from practice_, I thought. Except that he didn't have on his uniform. All he had on was a tank and shorts, despite the cold weather. This was the kind of guy girls would kill for. He had pretty decent grades (had to or else he was off the team) and was friends with nearly all the staff members. I thought he was a bit of a suck up.

He just wasn't the person I wanted to talk to at the moment. "Hey Andi," he said and leaned in to kiss me. He made for my lips but I turned my face so he would hit my cheek instead. This was _not_ going to be fun.

_Plus,_ I could literally feel Ezio's gaze boring two giant holes in the back of my head. This was just what I needed.

"So, ah, what do you need?" I asked him.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood so I decided to stop by and- Man, what is that smell? Were you cooking something?"

"Uh, yeah but you had just missed dinner about an hour ago," I partially lied. "Aw, man," he pouted. "And to think I brought dessert."

"For what?" I gave him a confused look.

"For our one year anniversary."

_Ah, crap!_ How could I have forgotten that? Oh, wait it must have been because Ezzy showed up and then Leandros brought a whole host of friends to shoot at me! Crap. I'd take them rather than deal with the Marcus-situation.

"Annnd since I heard that your parents are out of town and that you have the house all to yourself for the whole week… I was wondering if you would like to have a small party. Just you and me. To celebrate."

Then, he moved his bat up and down. I saw the six pack of Heineken hanging from the tip. He also carried another six in his hand.

"Then, after our little fiesta, we could go into one of the rooms for the after party."

My face collapsed when I heard that. _Fuck. Me._ He wanted to have sex.

He must've seen my expression because then he started to talk real fast. "Oh, come on babe. I know this is a touchy subject and that you really don't want to talk about this sort of thing. I know it's all gonna be new to you too, what with you being a virgin and all… But it'll be fine, just fine…"

By that part, I had stopped listening. Did he just say the v-word? He just had to say that. And was he implying about the numerous affairs that he had going on before he partnered up with me? God dammit! I knew I should have left him in the first place!

Marcus' voice drew me back to the present. "Babe? Babe? Didn't ya hear me? I said everything's gonna be alright. We'll take things slow… Come on. Aren't ya gonna at least invite me into your humble abode?" He leaned in and I smelled the liquor on his breath.

My face scrunched up and I drew back from him. I backed off to get away from that foul stench and bumped into the coffee table we had nearby. But then I realized my mistake: when I drew back, I had left the door wide open for him to think it an invitation to come in. "See? I knew ya would turn around," I heard him say. Fuck.

Marcus came in and set his stuff down near the doorway. I turned around to look at the kitchen. Ezio wasn't there. I gulped, my throat suddenly dry as a desert. "Look, Marcus. Now's really not the time. I have an appointment at seven tomorrow morning for a job interview and I can't miss it," I thought up quickly. I needed something to get him out of the house. "Well, why don't you just call and reschedule it for a later time?" he asked.

"I-it's not that simple," I stammered out. "I-I already had this planned out a week ago. That was the only time I would have to get in. Th-that's what they told me."

"Really? Then, what job are you getting interviewed for?"

"U-uh… umm…" I had to think for a moment. "I-it's for…" I racked my brain for a name, something. "It's for… being a, uh, an assistant to one of the managers up at, uh, Escrow." Finally, something. Except that Marcus didn't look convinced. "Really? An interview to be an assistant to a manager in Escrow?" he reiterated. God, it sounded so stupid when he said it that way.

He took a step towards me and I backed around the table behind me. Marcus watched me cautiously as I inched back towards the kitchen where the one available landline waited. I had to call the cops, but how long would it take them to get here? Would Marcus already be gone by the time they arrived, with me spent on the floor, either dead or dying? And then, how could I explain Ezio? He would _have_ to hide somewhere…

"You really don't have a job interview tomorrow, do you?" Marcus asked.

I didn't say anything; I only kept looking back at the kitchen. "You're a really bad liar, Andi," he purred.

I had to get to that damned phone. I had left my cell phone in my room earlier before I came down to wash the dishes.

Absentmindedly, I wondered if my phone got screwed up the same way my Xbox did. "Look. I'm sorry Marcus, but you're going to have to leave," I said, forcing my voice to not sound shaky. _God dammit! Where the hell is Ezio?!_ I thought. I heard a low grunt and turned my head slightly to look out through the game room to the backyard.

A booted foot came into view and a Byzantine man flew backward, tumbling head over heels. It would have been funny were I not in my present situation. I couldn't watch any longer because Marcus was closing in on me.

"You know," he said huskily, "Most girls don't normally break up with me."

"What?"I snapped back, "You break up with them? Or should I say _break_ them?" I amended.

"In a sense, yes."

_Shit!_

Without really thinking, I pulled up my right leg and slammed it into his stomach. Marcus doubled over, coughing as I bolted for the phone. I just started dialing 911 when I was knocked down to the ground. The phone flew across the floor.

I was then dragged across the floor. I looked back and saw Marcus with a hungry expression on his face. "You're only making this harder on yourself," he grunted. "_Pisciare fuori l'inferno_, Marcus!" I yelled out another curse phrase and flew at him, nails unsheathed. I was now really happy I hadn't filed them down yet.

I began to scratch the crap out of his face. He howled in pain and I pulled away from him. I got up and ran past the game room to the slider and looked out. No one was out there. "Oh, come on!" I whined and heard one of the floorboards creak behind me. Marcus stood in the entryway with an extremely pissed off look on his face. I could literally see the plumes of steam rising up from his head. He was mad and that's putting it lightly. He almost looked like he might actually hurt me, badly.

My eyes grew wide and I gulped loudly. I backed away from the slider. He ran at me. I turned to run the opposite way when he tackled me to ground. Being slammed down onto tile didn't exactly feel like cotton filled pillows. The air rushed out of me and I felt myself being flipped over onto my back.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and felt it try to pound its way out of my chest. Marcus straddled me and began to pull off his tank shirt. He pinned my arms with one hand and began edge my pants down till I could see the ridges of my hips. "No, no, no," I whimpered and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. His hand tightened on my wrists till it felt like he would break them.

I looked up and saw his eyes glinting evilly in the light. I swallowed and squeezed my eyes tightly and wished it to be over.

Then, all of sudden, he just wasn't there anymore. I waited there for a moment before opening up one eye. I looked. He w_as_ off me. I opened the other and saw a dark figure pressing Marcus up against the opposite wall. An arm was digging hard into his Adam's apple while a silver blade was pressed on the other side of his neck. I sat there, speechless.

"The lady asked to you to leave," I heard Ezio growl. Marcus began to stammer out apologies but Ezio shoved him harder into the wall. Marcus quieted down. "If I ever see you around here again, I will NOT be so inclined to allow you to leave with your life as you intended to take hers. Leave before I change my mind." Ezio threw Marcus aside. He slid across the floor before getting up.

"S-sir, I'm so sorr-" Marcus began again but whimpered slightly when Ezio turned on him. "Do I need to repeat myself? I said for you to leave. _Fuori di qui_," the assassin said coldly. Marcus still stood there.

"_Fuori!_" he bellowed. Marcus scrambled to his feet, ran to the door to grab his stuff, and bolted out of my house. Ezio walked over to close my door.

From where I was I could hear him curse quietly._ "Cazzo stronzo di un uomo! Ladro dannato!"_ he muttered to himself.

I still sat there on the cold floor when Ezio turned to look me. I quickly pulled up my pants.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded and tried to get up. My legs gave out from under me. I gave a look of disbelief when I tried again. He walked over quickly and helped me up.

He walked me over to the nearby wall. I leaned back against it and rubbed my wrists. Marcus' hands had left deep impressions on them. Ezio took one wrist gently and looked it over. He sighed and looked at me. "_Dannazione_, Andi. You're not alright," he murmured. I tugged my wrist back and he let go. I hung my head and wrapped my arms around my chest. I bit my lip willing the tears to go away. He had already seen me cry once tonight, I didn't want to go another round of bawling.

"Your friend had gotten at least one thing right."

I looked up at him. He gave a slight smile. "You _are_ a bad liar," he said.

I made a face but he managed to get a small laugh out of me.

"Look, why don't you go change. I'll be out here," he told me. I nodded and moved to get up. "Can you walk?" he asked. "Let me try," I said hoarsely. I moved up from the wall and took a few tentative steps forward. "Yeah, I can," I told him.

He let me go and I walked up the stairs and into my room. I checked my phone. There was a text message from Mom asking how I was doing. Then a video message from my sister, Carol. It was on the party. Underneath it, a message from her said: "Party was kinda a drag. Lot of cute guys here. Wish u came! Could find u a replacement for Marcus. Heading over to one in Seattle. Call u later."

I smiled slightly before hitting the lock button on my phone. I wriggled out of my Templar shirt and pants and slipped on a soft blue long-sleeved flannel shirt with matching shorts. I also pulled on my fuzzy green socks. My feet were getting really cold. I brushed out my hair and pulled it into a loose ponytail at the nape of my neck. A few strands fell out in front of my face. I brushed them back but gave up when they fell again.

I walked over to my bathroom and splashed some water onto my face before heading down the stairs. When I came down, I that Ezio was already sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over his knee. I came over and he took one of the blankets we had laying nearby and wrapped it around me.

"Um, thanks," I said and sat down next to him. He looked at my feet and his eyebrows rose. "What?" I asked.

"So is that something women wear nowadays?" he asked me.

"Maybe," I replied and pulled my green covered feet under the blanket. He laughed. "What? I was cold and I don't think you'd like the idea of me putting my cold feet on you to keep them warm." I made a face at him.

"Eh, probably not," he replied. Then, without me realizing it, I leaned my head back and it landed on his shoulder. Damn, this guy radiated heat. I bit my lip. _I think I'll, uh, just take the blanket_, I thought.

But I made sure my head was just on the edge of his shoulder. I didn't really want to bug him. Ezio moved a little and my head fell a little forward. I glared at the walls and set my lips and rolled my eyes._ He did that on purpose, didn't he_? I thought.

That's he started talking. Ezio began to talk about his family, then his "adventures" from Florence to Monterrigioni to Venice, Rome. The battle of Forli where he fought with the Orsi brothers. He talked about Caterina, the ruler of Forli. Then, he talked about the places that the Apple had taken him. How he had gone to Rome and fought with Rodrigo Borgia. Sure, I had joined him in his quest to find out the true purpose of the Apple, it just felt different when he told it. He mentioned Cristina's name more than once and I felt bad for him that she had died.

He didn't dwell too much on that subject. Ezio then talked about his uncle Mario. That man was spontaneous as he was firm. Then he talked about Leonardo da Vinci. "You know, you remind me of him," Ezio paused in his storytelling. "Oh really?" I asked _Damn, so that Facebook quiz was right_.

After awhile, I leaned my head back and just listened to the sound of his voice. The man was so eccentric and lively. It seemed like he hadn't really had any time or anybody to talk to about his journeys.

All the while he was talking, I began to listen to his heartbeat from underneath his armor. It was a pleasant sound.

Okay, so I'll admit. I sort of have a heart fetish. What? The sound is really… I wouldn't say relaxing, but it is nice to hear.

I slowly drifted off to sleep.


	4. Christmas Break Ch 4

Ch. 3

I just wanted to curl up on the floor and sleep the rest of break, but I knew I couldn't do that. I heaved a sigh. A knock sounded on the door startling me. "Andi is-are you alright?" I heard Ezio ask. I placed a hand on my chest and willed my heart to slow down. "Um," I cleared my throat, "Yeah, everything's okay. Look, I'll be out in a sec."

I took a deep breath and opened up the door. Ezio stood down at the end of the hallway, hands behind his back. I flipped off the light and walked towards him. He placed a hand on my shoulder and walked out with me.

I looked at the clock that hung over the fireplace in the living room. It was 8:30 p.m. I wanted to sleep but my stomach said otherwise. It growled loudly. Ezio laughed a little. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and glared at him. "I can't help it if I'm hungry," I said.

"Well, there's always a solution to that," he replied. We walked past the game room. Ezio angled me away from it but paused for a moment.

"_Ma che diavolo_?" I heard him say. I looked over his arm. Leandros was no longer there. Neither were the Byzantines out in the backyard. "You didn't move them?" I asked. He shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face. How could they have just disappeared?

We stood there a moment longer before I pulled him off to the kitchen. I turned on the lights and opened up one of the cabinets. I took a look at its contents. "Well, the only kind of dinner that I have managed to perfect is, ah, spaghetti," I said from inside the cabinets, "So, ah, would you care to have any?"

Ezio smiled slightly. "_Si,_ that would lovely."

I pulled out the pasta pot and filled it about halfway with water. Then, I turned on the front burner and placed the pot on there. I waited for awhile until it was boiling and poured in the pasta. That took about thirty minutes. Then, I opened up a can of tomato sauce and placed it on another burner.

I stirred the pasta and pulled out a strand. I held it gingerly for it was very hot.

Ezio was watching me curiously. "Dare I even ask what it is that you are doing?" he asked.

"Well, I want to see if it's done, so I took out one piece of pasta and am going to throw on the ceiling to see if it sticks. If it sticks, it's done. If it doesn't, we have a little while to go," I explained.

"Ah, _vedo_," he replied.

"Okay, here goes," I muttered and threw the strand up in the air. It hit the ceiling-

And stuck. I watched, warily, to see if it would fall down. It didn't. "And the verdict is: it's ready," I said. I jumped up to try to get the pasta strand down, but came up short. I jumped again, hands outstretched.

I glared at the ceiling. "Need a little help?" Ezio asked. I shook my head and jumped again. I heard him get up from the chair at the table. He walked over to me and reached up and took the pasta strand down from the ceiling. He held it out to me with a content look on his face. I grabbed the piece of pasta from his hand and threw it in the sink.

I opened up another cabinet and looked for the deep-dished plates. I found them at the back and pulled them carefully out. Then, after setting them down, I turned off the burner for the tomato sauce and drained the pasta. I poured two helpings onto his plate and one and a quarter onto mine.

"Just tell me when," I said to him when I began to pour the tomato sauce over his plate. He nodded and took his plate while I poured a decent amount onto mine. I pulled out two pairs of forks and knives and set my plate on the table.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked him.

"I would ask for wine, but I'm assuming there is none?"

Well, there _was_ a bottle of Cabernet in the back of the cupboard above the microwave but I shook my head. "Water, then," he told me. I poured two glasses and handed him his. We ate in relative silence after that.

After nearly finishing my plate, another knock sounded at my door. I rose up to go answer it. Ezio rose as well.

I looked at him. "Stay," I ordered. He gave me a look and I shook my head. The person knocked again and I rushed over, opening the door. It was my on-again-off-again-boyfriend, Marcus. "A-ah, oh. Marcus, hi," I greeted him. He smiled. Marcus was a seventeen year-old boy who made the varsity baseball team his freshman year, had dirty blonde hair, tanned skin, and green-blue eyes. He also had a pleasant personality.

Only when he was sober.

He had his baseball bat swung over shoulder. _Must've just come from practice_, I thought. Except that he didn't have on his uniform. All he had on was a tank and shorts, despite the cold weather. This was the kind of guy girls would kill for. He had pretty decent grades (had to or else he was off the team) and was friends with nearly all the staff members. I thought he was a bit of a suck up.

He just wasn't the person I wanted to talk to at the moment. "Hey Andi," he said and leaned in to kiss me. He made for my lips but I turned my face so he would hit my cheek instead. This was _not_ going to be fun.

_Plus,_ I could literally feel Ezio's gaze boring two giant holes in the back of my head. This was just what I needed.

"So, ah, what do you need?" I asked him.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood so I decided to stop by and- Man, what is that smell? Were you cooking something?"

"Uh, yeah but you had just missed dinner about an hour ago," I partially lied. "Aw, man," he pouted. "And to think I brought dessert."

"For what?" I gave him a confused look.

"For our one year anniversary."

_Ah, crap!_ How could I have forgotten that? Oh, wait it must have been because Ezzy showed up and then Leandros brought a whole host of friends to shoot at me! Crap. I'd take them rather than deal with the Marcus-situation.

"Annnd since I heard that your parents are out of town and that you have the house all to yourself for the whole week… I was wondering if you would like to have a small party. Just you and me. To celebrate."

Then, he moved his bat up and down. I saw the six pack of Heineken hanging from the tip. He also carried another six in his hand.

"Then, after our little fiesta, we could go into one of the rooms for the after party."

My face collapsed when I heard that. _Fuck. Me._ He wanted to have sex.

He must've seen my expression because then he started to talk real fast. "Oh, come on babe. I know this is a touchy subject and that you really don't want to talk about this sort of thing. I know it's all gonna be new to you too, what with you being a virgin and all… But it'll be fine, just fine…"

By that part, I had stopped listening. Did he just say the v-word? He just had to say that. And was he implying about the numerous affairs that he had going on before he partnered up with me? God dammit! I knew I should have left him in the first place!

Marcus' voice drew me back to the present. "Babe? Babe? Didn't ya hear me? I said everything's gonna be alright. We'll take things slow… Come on. Aren't ya gonna at least invite me into your humble abode?" He leaned in and I smelled the liquor on his breath.

My face scrunched up and I drew back from him. I backed off to get away from that foul stench and bumped into the coffee table we had nearby. But then I realized my mistake: when I drew back, I had left the door wide open for him to think it an invitation to come in. "See? I knew ya would turn around," I heard him say. Fuck.

Marcus came in and set his stuff down near the doorway. I turned around to look at the kitchen. Ezio wasn't there. I gulped, my throat suddenly dry as a desert. "Look, Marcus. Now's really not the time. I have an appointment at seven tomorrow morning for a job interview and I can't miss it," I thought up quickly. I needed something to get him out of the house. "Well, why don't you just call and reschedule it for a later time?" he asked.

"I-it's not that simple," I stammered out. "I-I already had this planned out a week ago. That was the only time I would have to get in. Th-that's what they told me."

"Really? Then, what job are you getting interviewed for?"

"U-uh… umm…" I had to think for a moment. "I-it's for…" I racked my brain for a name, something. "It's for… being a, uh, an assistant to one of the managers up at, uh, Escrow." Finally, something. Except that Marcus didn't look convinced. "Really? An interview to be an assistant to a manager in Escrow?" he reiterated. God, it sounded so stupid when he said it that way.

He took a step towards me and I backed around the table behind me. Marcus watched me cautiously as I inched back towards the kitchen where the one available landline waited. I had to call the cops, but how long would it take them to get here? Would Marcus already be gone by the time they arrived, with me spent on the floor, either dead or dying? And then, how could I explain Ezio? He would _have_ to hide somewhere…

"You really don't have a job interview tomorrow, do you?" Marcus asked.

I didn't say anything; I only kept looking back at the kitchen. "You're a really bad liar, Andi," he purred.

I had to get to that damned phone. I had left my cell phone in my room earlier before I came down to wash the dishes.

Absentmindedly, I wondered if my phone got screwed up the same way my Xbox did. "Look. I'm sorry Marcus, but you're going to have to leave," I said, forcing my voice to not sound shaky. _God dammit! Where the hell is Ezio?!_ I thought. I heard a low grunt and turned my head slightly to look out through the game room to the backyard.

A booted foot came into view and a Byzantine man flew backward, tumbling head over heels. It would have been funny were I not in my present situation. I couldn't watch any longer because Marcus was closing in on me.

"You know," he said huskily, "Most girls don't normally break up with me."

"What?"I snapped back, "You break up with them? Or should I say _break_ them?" I amended.

"In a sense, yes."

_Shit!_

Without really thinking, I pulled up my right leg and slammed it into his stomach. Marcus doubled over, coughing as I bolted for the phone. I just started dialing 911 when I was knocked down to the ground. The phone flew across the floor.

I was then dragged across the floor. I looked back and saw Marcus with a hungry expression on his face. "You're only making this harder on yourself," he grunted. "_Pisciare fuori l'inferno_, Marcus!" I yelled out another curse phrase and flew at him, nails unsheathed. I was now really happy I hadn't filed them down yet.

I began to scratch the crap out of his face. He howled in pain and I pulled away from him. I got up and ran past the game room to the slider and looked out. No one was out there. "Oh, come on!" I whined and heard one of the floorboards creak behind me. Marcus stood in the entryway with an extremely pissed off look on his face. I could literally see the plumes of steam rising up from his head. He was mad and that's putting it lightly. He almost looked like he might actually hurt me, badly.

My eyes grew wide and I gulped loudly. I backed away from the slider. He ran at me. I turned to run the opposite way when he tackled me to ground. Being slammed down onto tile didn't exactly feel like cotton filled pillows. The air rushed out of me and I felt myself being flipped over onto my back.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and felt it try to pound its way out of my chest. Marcus straddled me and began to pull off his tank shirt. He pinned my arms with one hand and began edge my pants down till I could see the ridges of my hips. "No, no, no," I whimpered and tried to wriggle out of his grasp. His hand tightened on my wrists till it felt like he would break them.

I looked up and saw his eyes glinting evilly in the light. I swallowed and squeezed my eyes tightly and wished it to be over.

Then, all of sudden, he just wasn't there anymore. I waited there for a moment before opening up one eye. I looked. He w_as_ off me. I opened the other and saw a dark figure pressing Marcus up against the opposite wall. An arm was digging hard into his Adam's apple while a silver blade was pressed on the other side of his neck. I sat there, speechless.

"The lady asked to you to leave," I heard Ezio growl. Marcus began to stammer out apologies but Ezio shoved him harder into the wall. Marcus quieted down. "If I ever see you around here again, I will NOT be so inclined to allow you to leave with your life as you intended to take hers. Leave before I change my mind." Ezio threw Marcus aside. He slid across the floor before getting up.

"S-sir, I'm so sorr-" Marcus began again but whimpered slightly when Ezio turned on him. "Do I need to repeat myself? I said for you to leave. _Fuori di qui_," the assassin said coldly. Marcus still stood there.

"_Fuori!_" he bellowed. Marcus scrambled to his feet, ran to the door to grab his stuff, and bolted out of my house. Ezio walked over to close my door.

From where I was I could hear him curse quietly._ "Cazzo stronzo di un uomo! Ladro dannato!"_ he muttered to himself.

I still sat there on the cold floor when Ezio turned to look me. I quickly pulled up my pants.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded and tried to get up. My legs gave out from under me. I gave a look of disbelief when I tried again. He walked over quickly and helped me up.

He walked me over to the nearby wall. I leaned back against it and rubbed my wrists. Marcus' hands had left deep impressions on them. Ezio took one wrist gently and looked it over. He sighed and looked at me. "_Dannazione_, Andi. You're not alright," he murmured. I tugged my wrist back and he let go. I hung my head and wrapped my arms around my chest. I bit my lip willing the tears to go away. He had already seen me cry once tonight, I didn't want to go another round of bawling.

"Your friend had gotten at least one thing right."

I looked up at him. He gave a slight smile. "You _are_ a bad liar," he said.

I made a face but he managed to get a small laugh out of me.

"Look, why don't you go change. I'll be out here," he told me. I nodded and moved to get up. "Can you walk?" he asked. "Let me try," I said hoarsely. I moved up from the wall and took a few tentative steps forward. "Yeah, I can," I told him.

He let me go and I walked up the stairs and into my room. I checked my phone. There was a text message from Mom asking how I was doing. Then a video message from my sister, Carol. It was on the party. Underneath it, a message from her said: "Party was kinda a drag. Lot of cute guys here. Wish u came! Could find u a replacement for Marcus. Heading over to one in Seattle. Call u later."

I smiled slightly before hitting the lock button on my phone. I wriggled out of my Templar shirt and pants and slipped on a soft blue long-sleeved flannel shirt with matching shorts. I also pulled on my fuzzy green socks. My feet were getting really cold. I brushed out my hair and pulled it into a loose ponytail at the nape of my neck. A few strands fell out in front of my face. I brushed them back but gave up when they fell again.

I walked over to my bathroom and splashed some water onto my face before heading down the stairs. When I came down, I that Ezio was already sitting on the couch, one leg crossed over his knee. I came over and he took one of the blankets we had laying nearby and wrapped it around me.

"Um, thanks," I said and sat down next to him. He looked at my feet and his eyebrows rose. "What?" I asked.

"So is that something women wear nowadays?" he asked me.

"Maybe," I replied and pulled my green covered feet under the blanket. He laughed. "What? I was cold and I don't think you'd like the idea of me putting my cold feet on you to keep them warm." I made a face at him.

"Eh, probably not," he replied. Then, without me realizing it, I leaned my head back and it landed on his shoulder. Damn, this guy radiated heat. I bit my lip. _I think I'll, uh, just take the blanket_, I thought.

But I made sure my head was just on the edge of his shoulder. I didn't really want to bug him. Ezio moved a little and my head fell a little forward. I glared at the walls and set my lips and rolled my eyes._ He did that on purpose, didn't he_? I thought.

That's he started talking. Ezio began to talk about his family, then his "adventures" from Florence to Monterrigioni to Venice, Rome. The battle of Forli where he fought with the Orsi brothers. He talked about Caterina, the ruler of Forli. Then, he talked about the places that the Apple had taken him. How he had gone to Rome and fought with Rodrigo Borgia. Sure, I had joined him in his quest to find out the true purpose of the Apple, it just felt different when he told it. He mentioned Cristina's name more than once and I felt bad for him that she had died.

He didn't dwell too much on that subject. Ezio then talked about his uncle Mario. That man was spontaneous as he was firm. Then he talked about Leonardo da Vinci. "You know, you remind me of him," Ezio paused in his storytelling. "Oh really?" I asked _Damn, so that Facebook quiz was right_.

After awhile, I leaned my head back and just listened to the sound of his voice. The man was so eccentric and lively. It seemed like he hadn't really had any time or anybody to talk to about his journeys.

All the while he was talking, I began to listen to his heartbeat from underneath his armor. It was a pleasant sound.

Okay, so I'll admit. I sort of have a heart fetish. What? The sound is really… I wouldn't say relaxing, but it is nice to hear.

I slowly drifted off to sleep.


	5. Christmas Break Ch 5

Ch. 5

After a speedy shower and a quick change of clothes, I was back downstairs. A little too soon if you asked me. I hung back and sat on the bottom of the stairs.

Everybody was talking in low voices. Tucker had the TV turned on and he, Griff, Alex, Caboose, and Church sat down on the two couches in the living room. Church and Tucker fought over the remote, not wanting to watch this or that channel. Their fighting painfully reminded me of my brother and his friends whenever they came over.

Griff was slowly scooting himself away from Alex who was not really watching the screen. He had a bored expression on his face. Caboose was just being… Caboose.

After finding out that McMullen's location was in Los Angeles, we had a plan to make. And I had no fucking idea what that was even going to be. That's why I had headed upstairs to shower and change; I hoped it would give me a chance to brainstorm, but nothing came to me.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and laid my head down on my knees. After a few minutes, something tapped me on my shoulder.

I lifted my head up and Ezio was leaning off to the side of me. "You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just don't know what the hell to do. If I don't head over to that guy's 'office' thing, I'll have my house ransacked. Mind you, my parents will kill me if the house gets destroyed."

Ezio nodded and we continued to watch the others. Off in the corner, I saw Simmons chatting with Tali, no doubt trying to get her on a date. I smiled to myself and looked up when Agent Carolina walked up to me. "Commander Shepard over there," she said and tossed a thumb back at FemShep (I had guessed that her name Jane and her counterpart, John) who was looking at a holographic model of a skyscraper on her omnitool, "was getting ready to head over to talk with that McMullen. She wants to know if you or your mother have any business clothes to wear since we're going to have to look like we're coming in for an appointment."

"Uh, yeah. I believe we do. My mom at least. Anyone else coming?"

"Me, Simmons, Jane Shepard and Alex."

"Ok, they can probably borrow one of my dad's suits. You can borrow one of my mom's."

The freelancer nodded and turned to walk off when she paused for a moment. "Andi, I have an idea on how we can take care of these guys," she said.

I gave her look. "How?"

"This is just a theory: I think McMullen, and whoever else came in, runs on a separate network. Like how I think me and the RvB company run on your phone's network and the others run on the console's network. If you give me a few minutes I can create an unstable computer virus that can destroy the networks' integrity, basically killing them off. I'll program the virus to become more unstable after each insertion. The last one will be extremely potent and will devour the network in a matter of seconds, if not faster."

"Okay," I said and nodded. "When you all planning on leaving?"

"In a few minutes."

"O-oh, okay then. We'll need to get dressed," I said and stood up quickly. The others had gotten up from where they were when Carolina called them over.

We headed upstairs. I showed FemShep, Alex, Simmons, Carolina to my parents' closets while I headed over to my room to change. I pulled out a semi-formal black and blue dress. I dug around till I found a pair of black belted heeled boots. I pulled them on and walked downstairs. I tiptoed quietly into the bathroom to put on makeup. I didn't feel like drawing any unwanted attention while I was in there.

I did my makeup quickly, messing up on the eyeliner. Grumbling, I pulled out a wipe and carefully wiped off the smudged up part. With that done, I redid the eyeliner and pulled out the mascara. I pumped the stylus twice before doing my eyes. Right as I was about to look into the mirror, I saw something move in the reflection.

I jumped, nearly jabbing myself in the eye with the mascara stick. "Christ! Don't do that!" I said as Alex leaned against the doorway.

"What was I supposed do? Make noise?"

"Yes!"

He shrugged. "The other two women want to know when you're done in here," he said.

"O-oh, I'm almost done," I stammered and quickly swiped the mascara over my lashes. I then slid all the makeup I had used into the drawers below and brushed past Alex into the living room.

Jane and Carolina had just walked down the stairs. "See here? When you press that button, your armor will immediately pop out and cover you in a matter of seconds," the freelancer was explaining to the Commander.

"It'll be pretty damned useful when we're in combat," FemShep responded.

The freelancer nodded and looked at me. She was in a striped business suit with ankle-high heels and Jane was in a black pencil skirt with a striped jacket and white blouse underneath. She also had on ankle-high heels.

"The bathroom?" Carolina asked and I directed them to it. After ten minutes, we were all ready. Jane and Simmons were already walking off to my car while Carolina hung back. She was at my computer and had just pulled out a small black flash drive. "Here," she said handing it to me.

I looked at her, confused for a moment. "It contains the viruses," she explained.

"Oh," was all I said.

"Keep it somewhere safe," she said to me. I glanced around before dropping it down the front of my dress. She just looked at me with a smirk on her face before walking off to the car. Outside, I heard both Carolina and Simmons yell, "SHOTGUN!" Then Simmons' resounding, "Damn it!" when Carolina beat him to it.

I started to laugh and walked over to the garage. I stopped for a moment and turned around. I caught Ezio's eye and motion for him come over. "Look," I said, "If my parents or someone else comes to the door, don't answer it. If it's my parents, just get the others to hide. I'll figure out what to do," I explained.

He gave me a questioning gaze. "What makes you think that your parents are coming home?" he asked.

"Something on the news talked about flights being cancelled and one was for my parents. So I'm _really_ hoping they're not heading home right now." I laughed uneasily.

Ezio nodded. "I understand."

"Okay," I replied and walked off to the garage. Alex wasn't out there yet. I sighed and glanced around to look for him. Ezio was talking to him. I had just caught the last part of their conversation.

"…her safe. She's like a, uh, magnet for trouble," Ezio was saying. I glowered at him. Alex nodded and looked up to see me still making angry faces at Ezio. He raised an eyebrow. I made a face and motioned for him to hurry up.

Shrugging, Alex followed and closed the door when he came into the garage. I unlocked the doors to my car. That's when I noticed the passenger seat wasn't occupied. Simmons was covering a laugh when I looked in the backseat. I rolled my eyes and got in.

"I hate you guys," I grumbled to them just as Alex got in the other seat.

This was going to be a lot of fun.

It took us about twenty minutes to reach L.A. We were lucky there wasn't any traffic. Soon, the gray, blue, and black skyscrapers came into view.

"So which one was it?" I asked Shepard.

"Give me a moment," she said and consulted her omnitool. After a few seconds, "There. The blue-gray one." She pointed to a tall building with a bright yellow logo on it. I couldn't tell what it was, but it vaguely resembled the Cerberus symbol. It's yellow, white and gray design gave it away.

"Okay, so Simmons," I said when we entered L.A., "There should be a security panel off to the right side of the building. I need you to hack it and when Carolina tells you to, loop footage of us waiting in the lobby for as long as you can. It'll buy us some time to find out what McMullen wants."

"O-okay," Simmons replied.

I gave him a look in the rearview mirror. "Don't worry," he said, "I got your back."

I nodded. "So, you, me, Shep, and Alex storm up to McMullen's office and demand to know why he made a simple phone call asking for Alex?" Carolina asked me.

"Yep," I replied.

"Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?" she said.

"That's pretty blunt," I muttered.

"No shit. There's actually a brain in there."

I groaned. "Look, Andi have you ever considered there being guardsmen there? Those… Blackwatch guys protecting McMullen? Have you ever factored them into the equation?" she asked.

"I did but I figured we'd be out before McMullen could call them in."

Carolina shook her head. "Did you ever think of a backup plan?"

"Alright, look I didn't. The damned asshole caught me off guard," I snapped, "As you can see, things haven't exactly been peachy-keen around here."

"That's not an excuse," she replied, "We've got to know what's going on when our asses are going to be on the line. I don't want to going in there blind to everything."

"That's where Simmons comes in," I said smugly.

"Wait wha-?" Simmons started.

"Look, you'll be in control of the security cameras, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah."

"And we'll have some form of communication on us so we can talk, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, you'll be able to give us updates. You'll be able to let us know if things start to get a little too hot and we'll know to bug out."

"So, what? You think we'll be to run past an armed guard force taking no hits?" Carolina shot out.

"Who said anything about taking the front door?" I asked her.

"I'm not following."

"Look, there's bound to be ventilation units nearby, from what the scans show?" I asked Shepard. She nodded.

"Okay, so we could either use those or we can scale down the building, which I'd really rather not do."

"'Scale down the building'," Carolina repeated my words.

"I know, not really though out well. But it's better than nothing."

It was silent the rest of the drive. Five minutes later, I pulled off to the side of the road about half a block away from the targeted building. "We'll walk over there and tell the receptionist that we have an appointment with Mr. McMullen," Carolina said.

"Okay," Shepard replied and we got out of the car. I gave Simmons the wheel and he drove off ahead of us. It took us about ten minutes till we reached the building. Carolina opened the door and we walked through.

I saw Alex clench one of his hands and he pocketed them quickly when he saw me watching. I raised an eyebrow and he just shook his head. At the front desk, there sat a woman of about twenty three. Her hair was done up in a tight bun, blonde strands drifted in her face. She brushed them back quickly when she saw us approach.

"Hello. How may I help you today?" she asked.

"We have an appointment with Mr. McMullen scheduled for today," Carolina said to her.

"Okay," the woman smiled and looked through the computer's files. She bit her lip. "What was your name?" she asked.

"Alex Mercer," Alex spoke up. The woman's eyes flitted to him once and back to Carolina before typing his name in. "Are you sure you had an appointment today?" she asked Carolina.

The freelancer nodded. "Yes. We had just gotten off the phone with him about an hour ago," she explained.

"Hmmm," the receptionist said then her face blanked. "What on earth-?" she muttered to herself.

"What's wrong?" Shepard asked.

"I think this computer has a bug. It's not letting me access anything," the woman said, "I'm sorry but I'm not able get through here. I need to talk to my administrator." With that said, she turned to give us a smile and told us she'd only five minutes, and left.

Carolina took out a phone, dialed a number, and the dial tone sounded from within. After ringing twice, the person picked up.

"Yeah?" It was Simmons.

"Ready when you are," was all Carolina said.

"Okay, give me a sec-" Carolina cut him off.

"We don't have a second," she snapped, "Hurry up!"

"Okay! Okay! Just stop pressuring me!" Suddenly, static could be heard quietly throughout the area. "Okay, you're clear to go," Simmons said.

"Thank you, Simmons. It's been a pleasure working with you," Carolina replied sarcastically.

She hung up right as he was about to tell the freelancer what to do with herself. "Let's go," Shepard said and we hurried off to the elevators just as we heard the click-clacking of heels coming from the opposite direction. We scrambled into the elevator right as it opened.

"What level?" hissed Carolina.

"Try twenty nine," I said.

"You sure?"

"No."

Rolling her eyes, the freelancer jabbed the button and the elevator doors closed. Up we went.

About two minutes later, the doors binged open and we stepped out. There in front of us, with his fingers steepled, was McMullen. With about five other guards in the room with him. All armed to the teeth.

_Holy shiiit!_ I thought, _This guy doesn't mess around._

He got up and smiled like he was greeting old friends. "Welcome. I'm glad I didn't have to send someone to fetch you," he smirked.

I could literally feel Alex's tension rolling off him waves. Placing my hands behind my back, I placed one hand discreetly on his arm to calm him little. He stopped quaking with anger but I could still feel the tension.

"And I see you have brought me my valued client. Thank you," McMullen continued. I looked at him. He had to be close to forty, with black hair parted down one side. He had on a blue pinstriped suit with black shoes. His tie was just one shade darker than his suit. He also had black rimmed glasses on, which he took off to clean an imaginary smudge.

"Before you come any closer," he started and placed on his glasses, "I need you and your friends to be searched. I don't want to have this turn into a gunfight. Besides blood is so hard to get out carpet these days." I glanced fearfully down on the floor. Right under his desk, there was something that was a shade darker than his desk's shadow.

I gulped and flinched when one of the guards came near. Shep and Carolina were on either side of me while Alex was right behind me. Unwillingly, Shepard and Carolina allowed themselves to be searched. Then one of the guards approached me. My heart began to pound in my chest.

Before I went downstairs back at my house, Shepard had given me a sheath to wrap around my upper thigh. It contained a small but sharp dagger. I was hoping I wouldn't have to use it.

The guards searched us but didn't dare go near Alex. One of the guards just pointed his gun at Alex and gave him that "no funny business" look. I almost laughed. Alex could knock these guys on their asses before they'd have time to blink.

The guard searched me but didn't find anything. One of the men in charge nodded and we were allowed to approach McMullen.

"I'm very glad you all came. So now that you're free of your weapons, let's sit down and have a nice, civil talk," McMullen said. He gestured with one of his hands and the guards procured two more chairs for us. I gingerly sat down, as did Shepard and Alex, who looked like he could give a rat's ass. Carolina was only one still standing.

McMullen gave her a questioning look to which she replied bluntly, "I prefer to stand."

"Very well," McMullen said to her. He steepled his fingers again and leaned forward.

"As you may have guessed, the other main… characters have also been transported into this realm. The Illusive Man-" at this Shepard stiffened- "and the Director." The freelancer froze next to me. These were two very powerful video game baddies.

The Illusive Man (T.I.M for short) is in charge of a powerful organization called Cerberus in Mass Effect 1 and 2. They're bound to have a powerful impact in the third game. And the Director's in charge of Project Freelancer in RvB.

So, we were going to be dealing with pretty powerful men. Damn my love of video games!

McMullen's voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Nice of to join us, Miss Andrea," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I was getting rather bored with your discussion. Can we just cut to the chase? My break's gonna end quicker with your lecturing," I retorted.

Shepard hid a snicker. "Oh, yes. Is this all very funny to you?" McMullen snapped.

We looked at him. "You are dealing with a crisis right now," he said, "The Director's ship is currently in orbit above the earth. Now I'm guessing you're thinking well how can that kind of ship remain hidden from the U.S. military? People from the Director's time have developed a stealth system that covers the entire ship, from radar and sight. Yes, even more advanced than yours, Commander Shepard. Your ship may be protected from radar but it can still be seen. Plus, it always helps to fill those empty pockets of theirs.

"I digress," he said and waved his hand dismissively. "I-" he started to say when a loud thump sounded nearby. We all froze. McMullen stood up quickly. "You and you," he pointed at two of the guards behind us, "Check out what made that noise. Now!" he ordered. The guards hustled out of the room.

It was silent for awhile. McMullen pursed his lips and snatched a walkie talkie from one of the nearby guards and keyed the button. "Charles, Hansen come in," he said and released the button.

Static crackled over the device and he tried again. After waiting a few more seconds, McMullen was about to send in another guard when a voice came in over the walkie talkie. "-Sir! They've –eached the lower levels. -vacuate the building now!" Suddenly screaming filled the speakers and horrible crunching of bones came through.

McMullen turned the device off and laid it on the table. "Send word of the evacuation," he said to the remaining guards. Two of them ran out of the room but the third stopped. "Sir? What about them?" he asked and gestured to us. "I'll deal with them," McMullen replied simply.

The guard nodded and took off. As soon as he was gone, McMullen walked over to his desk and opened up the drawers. Alex immediately flew up from his chair and Carolina quickly placed herself between me and McMullen. Shepard flipped out her omnitool blade. It looked freaking cool despite my predicament.

"Relax, I'm not going to attack you. That would be rather stupid of me, seeing that I would be beaten to a pulp and then consumed before I made a move towards the child," McMullen said and shook his head.

"I was going to show you the way out of here before they reach my office. No doubt they're already on their way," he muttered. He got up and pulled aside a painting on the wall near his desk. Underneath it was a keypad which he punched in the pass code. The wall caved in slightly to reveal a secret passage. "This'll take you to an emergency elevator which will take you out of here," McMullen said.

With that, we were dismissed. Shepard, Carolina, and I made for the door but Alex stopped. McMullen stared at him. "Alex, come on!" I said.

"I have something I need to do here," Alex replied simply. I rolled my eyes. "Not this again," I muttered.

"Ah, yes. My untimely suicide altered Alexander's plan. How could I not forget my own death? I wished you could have seen your face before I blew off my own head," McMullen said. Arrogant bastard. He looked like he was having the time of his life. I grumbled.

But then stopped. _Wait a minute,_ I thought, _Activision killed off McMullen before Alex could consume him. Therefore, he may not contain the information because Activision didn't place any valuable information in his head because he wasn't meant to be consumed!_

Just as I was about to warn Alex of this, something pink, huge, and smelly burst through the other wall.

They were here. They were Hunters.

And to think the phrase "How could this day get any worse?" never issued from my lips.


	6. Christmas Break Ch 6

Ch. 6

We all froze. Then another Hunter smashed the main doorway to join its brethren. They both issued an ear-grating howl and attacked McMullen. Alex jumped over the creatures and landed near us. He posed as if to attack when Carolina yelled at him, "Take Andi to the elevator. Get her out of here. Shep and I can hold these fuglies off. Buy you guys some time." Alex was about to protest but Shepard cut him off.

"Right now, Andi is extremely important. You're faster than us. You can get her out of here," she said, "Good luck to you. We'll meet you by the car." Carolina called for the flash drive and I tossed it to her. At that, the two women engaged the monstrosities.

"Come on!" Alex yelled at me and grabbed my arm. We ran to the elevator.

Alex pressed the down button. Nothing happened. He pressed it again, harder this time. Cursing, he slammed his fist into the wall, making a basketball sized dent in it. I flinched.

Then, sudden recognition crossed his face. He had an idea. He walked over to the elevator doors and pulled them open. Once they were opened, he poked his head and pulled out quickly. And elevator whizzed down fast past the door. Alex almost fell on his ass. "Damn," he said and looked out the doors carefully. An echo of the crashed elevator echoed up the shaft.

I grimaced. "I hope that one wasn't meant for us," I said. Alex nodded in agreement. "So how're we going to get out of here?" I asked him.

"The only way to go is up," Alex said and pointed up the elevator shaft. "Excuse me?" I said and raised an eyebrow, "How exactly do you plan on getting up there if there aren't any working elevators? Unless you can sprout wings, I don't see a way up."

"I've got something better," he said and walked over to me.

"Oh no, no no nononono!" I said and waved my hands in the "oh hell no!" gesture, "I know where this is going and I'm not going," I said.

"Oh, don't be such a big baby," Alex said and motioned for me to get up on his back. He was already back in his normal clothes. I kept forgetting that he could do that.

"No, Alex. I'm not getting on the piggyback ride of death!"

"The piggyback ride of death? You already thought up a name for it that quickly?"

"Yes I did! You have a problem with that?"

He just laughed and motioned for me again. "I'm not getting on! And did you forget what I'm wearing?" I asked.

"No," he replied.

I ignored the blush creeping up on my face and continued, "Well if you didn't fail to notice what I was wearing then you obviously have something wrong with your brain. I'm wearing a _dress_. Something that'll ride up. It'll be very uncomfortable not to mention embarrassing."

"You're worrying about a fashion crisis when we have two overgrown zombies chasing us?"

"Yes."

"It scares me how quickly you reply. Just get on. Nobody else will be watching you."

I bit my lip as he kneeled down and had his back to me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hesitantly raised one of my legs. He caught it and we did the same with the other one. Once I was secure and as comfortable as I could get myself, Alex set himself a few feet away from the elevator door. "Hang on," he said to me.

"Ah, crap! Crap! Crap! Shit, fuck crap!" I began to mutter. I did this whenever I was going to do something that's really fun but scary as hell, like going on Supreme Scream. That rides scares the shit out of me, yet I love going on it.

This… not so much.

With a few bounding strides, Alex's feet left the floor and we were in free fall.

A strangled shriek left my throat before we stopped. Then, suddenly we were rising. Quickly. Alex was wall running vertically. It felt weird to be hanging from this kind of position. I dared a glance backward and regretted it. All there was was a dark abyss that, with one wrong step, we could be dropping into.

I quickly looked away and tightened my grip around Alex's neck. I hoped I wasn't suffocating him. A small noise escaped him. It reached my ears as laughter. I glared at him but didn't dare do anything that would cause him to lose his concentration on running. Vertically.

_Oh, please let this be over soon!_ I begged silently. After another minute or so, a block light came in from a doorway. We passed by it quickly. Being careful to not look down I said, "Alex! I think I found our way out!"

"I know. I saw it too," he replied.

He ran up a little further before somersaulting in the air and landing vertically on wall. Angling his feet just so and dragging a hand on the wall, we slid down the wall till we saw the light. Just before we neared it, we saw that the doors were opened just barely. As we neared the doorway, Alex pushed off the wall with no hesitation. I lurched forward as he punched through the door. He tumbled to a safe stop, with me in a heap on the floor next to him.

"That was stupid," I muttered and rubbed my sore head.

"But effective," he replied.

"Whatever. Where are we?"

Alex stood and hauled me up off the floor. We began to look around. The noise of cars and people drew me to the right side of the building. I walked cautiously over to the noise. It brought me over to the edge of the building and looked down. We were on the roof or at least the level right below it. And we were at a dizzying height. I quickly withdrew. "Hey, Alex!" I called.

"Yeah?"

"I think we're on the roof!"

"I noticed."

I made a face and walked over, my heels click-clacking all the way. I made it no more than five feet from the edge when a pink arm punched its way through the solid concrete. I froze as more came up through the elevator shaft. "Oh shit," I muttered. The Hunters had found us.

"Andi!" I heard Alex call.

"Yeah?!"

"Stay where you are. I'll take care of these guys!"

"How can stay where I am when one of these guys is _eyeing me for lunch_!?" I shrieked.

The creature slowly walked over to me, its rancid smell entering my nose. Grimacing, I pinched my nose shut and tried to breathe as I backed away from it. My heel dipped dangerously as I reached the edge of the building. I noticed construction equipment all around and saw some rope dangling on the side of the building, swaying in the breeze.

The creature continued to advance. It raised its paw as if to swat me aside when it suddenly lurched to the floor. Alex's half hearted attempt at saving me didn't go so well. As the hunter fell to the floor, its paw still flung out and caught me at the leg.

I lost my balance and fell over the side. I heard my name called as I tipped over the side. Twisting myself, I reached out and grabbed the rope. I caught it just in time. I wrapped one hand around it as I tried to get my bearings straight. Suddenly, a shadow passed over me. I turned to watch a Hunter tumble into the streets below. Another followed a heartbeat later.

"Andi!" Alex called out.

"Over… here!"

I saw his head peek over the edge. "At least you're okay," he said.

"I'm not yet," I said with the "hint hint" look.

"Oh right." Alex reached down and pulled me up.

Once I was up on solid ground, I asked, "Well, there's bound to be more of those things. How're we supposed to get down from here? The elevator's busted…" I placed my hands on my hips and walked around, scuffing my heels against the ground.

"I have an idea," Alex spoke up.

"No. Uh uh! Not another one of your ideas. That's going to be involving a crap load of danger and my life in jeopardy. Again," I said.

"You just survived a Hunter attack. I'm pretty sure you can survive this other idea."

I groaned. "Alex! No!"

Ignoring my constant protests, I soon found myself back up on Alex's back. And we were leaving just in time. The virus from the flash drive finally found the network and caused the building's structure to become unstable. The building began to flicker, slowly at first but began to gain speed.

"We have to get out of here!" I yelled.

"Already on it," Alex replied. He walked backward about thirty feet from the edge of the building.

"Oh god! No Alex! Don't you _dare_ jump off this building!" I shrieked and basically had a stranglehold on his neck. He pulled a little at my arms around his neck.

"Not so tight, Andi," he said as he got into a running position.

"No, please god! No!"

"The building's already going to collapse. So, we'll be falling either way. If it'll make you feel any better, just don't open your eyes."

"Okay," I agreed.

"Hold on tight." I tightened my hold on his waist and suddenly he was off. He covered the ground in five great strides before we were airborne. And in freefall.

We dropped like a rock, everything whizzing past us in a blur of color and sound. I couldn't help it. I screamed on the way down. I was stupid enough not to shut my eyes before he jumped off the building. Suddenly, something clamped down on my mouth. I panicked and removed one hand from Alex's neck to try to pry it off my face.

That's when I realized, after a few moments of wrestling with the thing, it was coming from the nape of Alex's neck. It was his silent way of telling me to shut the hell up. I stopped trying to pull the thing off and replaced my arm around his neck. It dissolved right into his jacket.

He lurched through the sky after we had fallen about hallway down the building and glided over lower buildings. I hoped that people weren't looking up to see us flying over their heads.

"Hang on! I'm going to find a secluded place to land!" I heard Alex call to me. I buried my face into the back of head and nodded. I was too afraid to speak and was feeling very nauseated. This was not going to be pretty when we landed.

I felt him slowly descend and then lean a little to the left to slow his descent on a wall nearby. As soon as he was about three feet from the ground, he hopped off. We had safely landed.

I was still locked onto his back. After a few minutes of trying to talk me into getting off, Alex gently pried my shock-frozen arms off his neck. He stopped when he couldn't get them off and moved to my legs, which, before his hands even touched my ankles, I popped right off. I jumped off his back and landed unsteadily on the ground. Alex turned swiftly around and held out a hand to keep me from falling.

"You alright?" he asked.

My stomach was swirling around in circles. I shook my head furiously and ran over to the wall to vomit.

I coughed and doubled over as another wave of nausea overcame me. I spat out the bad taste in my mouth as best as I could before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I'm so pathetic," I muttered and slumped to the ground, ignoring the dirt and grime that covered the floor.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex look taken aback by my words. "No you're not," he said.

"We just fell fifteen stories and glided over here. I had just dealt with those damned Hunters and fucking McMullen. All we had to do was fall from a building to get me to throw up and start feeling bad about myself. God!" I groaned.

"Andi, that's probably the most typical reaction to have when going into freefall for a sustained period of time. Nobody can blame you for your stomach," Alex said as he kneeled down to be eyelevel with me.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on. I'm sure the others are probably wondering where we are," he said.

We waited a few more seconds to be sure my stomach was steady before I took his proffered hand to get up. In the blink of an eye, he was back in his business suit. Hair slicked back and everything. A completely different man from what he was a few seconds ago. I looked down at my clothes and grumbled.

My dress was a mess and I was positive that my hair looked like a bird's nest. I ran my hands through it as best I could before finding an elastic band to hold it back. Sure the end of the ponytail looked like a bottle brush but at least it was out of my face. I didn't know what to do with my dress. I placed a hand on my forehead when I realized that blood was trickling back down it.

Panicking, I looked myself over till I found a half-inch gash on my left arm. It was maybe two in two inches from my shoulder. "Ah, crap," I muttered.

"Your father won't want this suit back?" Alex asked me suddenly.

"Wha-? No. I highly doubt he'd miss that one. He has dozens that look exactly like it," I replied absentmindedly, "Why do you ask?"

Then, I heard the sound of fabric tearing and looked over to see Alex ripping a good chunk of the sleeve off. He walked over to me, the torn sleeve in hand, and began to wipe some of the excess blood off my arm. Once it was relatively clean, he wrapped the other half of the sleeve around the gash. I winced as he tightened the makeshift bandage on my skin.

He knotted the piece and inspected his work. "That should keep it from bleeding for now," he said. I looked at my arm.

"Won't it look kinda weird in public, when people see my arm covered in blood and then see a blood stained piece of fabric on my arm?" I asked him.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Alex draped his jacket around my shoulders. "Pull the sleeves in so your arm doesn't show," he said.

All he had on was a dark blue, almost black, button up shirt, a black tie that was slightly askew, and black business pants and shoes. He also had on sunglasses, which I didn't notice before. I did as he suggested and, with his hand still on my shoulder, we walked out of the alleyway and into a crowd of people.

After several minutes of searching, we finally spotted my car. We walked on as casually as we could as to not attract any attention and slipped into my car.

Carolina was at the wheel, Shep in the passenger seat and Simmons in the back. Alex went in first and pulled me in after him before closing the door. Carolina put the car into gear and we were off.

"God, what took you guys so long?" Carolina asked.

"We got delayed," Alex said simply.

"Well, you two had us waiting for nearly an hour after we got out," she shot out.

"We thought you were still in the building when it became unstable and finally collapsed," said Shepard.

"Is there still a building there?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah, but much shorter. No one seemed to either notice or care," Carolina continued, keeping her eyes on the road. She pulled into another lane and we were on the freeway.

We got home in record time. Right as we neared my house, I saw another car parked in the driveway. It was a black Suburban. I recognized the license plate number.

"Ah, craaaaap!" I groaned.

"Who is it? Is it someone we need to worry about?" Carolina immediately asked.

"No. It's my parents." This was not going to be good.

"I thought they weren't going to be coming home till Saturday night," I panicked, my voice raising an octave.

"Don't panic," Shep said to me, "I'm sure you'll be able to explain this to them."

"Explain-?! How the hell do I _explain_ all this?" I shrieked.

I flopped back into the seat as Carolina parked my car beside my house.

"Look," I started, "Stay in the car. I'll let you know when to come out, okay?"

Reluctantly, they nodded and I got out. I handed Alex his jacket before entering my house. I steeled myself for what it may look like while I was gone.

I opened my eyes right as I opened the door. Everything was in its normal place. I heard a muffled cough upstairs and was about to go up and investigate when I heard a female voice exclaim, "Oh, Andi!"

I turned around and was immediately engulfed in flowery perfume and mink scarves. My parents told me later that they thought it would be nice to bring my aunt home with us since they met her at the airport too. Her flight was cancelled and she had no way of getting back home. So, now she was going to stay here. This was really going to complicate things.

"How are you dear?" she asked me as she gave me another rib bruising hug. I heard someone snicker and turned my head just a fraction to see Griff yanked back into hiding; his hand was covering his mouth which was upturned into a smile.

"Aunt… Martha," I squeezed out, "I'm… good."

"That's wonderful to hear!" she exclaimed again before finally releasing me. I resisted the urge to bend over and catch my breath. That was when my parents came in from the kitchen.

"Andi, it's good to see you," my mother said, smiling warmly. I nodded, "You too," I replied.

My dad came in and we exchanged greetings. "We were a bit surprised that you weren't home," my mom started out when we sat on the couches.

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Yes," my dad replied, "Right when your mother placed the key into the lock, we heard a lot of commotion going on inside. Before we even had the chance to open up the door, Mrs. Greensborough- the woman who owns that dog?- came up to us and began to go on about how it was wonderful to see you and your 'uncle' working together on a movie project for school."

My blood turned ice cold. _Damn Mrs. G.! Always blabbing off to anyone with ears!_

I didn't know what to say. "Andi? Andi?" my dad was saying. He waved his hand in front of my face to get my attention.

I looked up at him. "Hm?" He gave me a look. I held his gaze for a second longer before looking at my lap.

"Andi, was there an older man in this house?" my mom asked me. How the hell could I explain all of this to them without them freaking out?

I heard someone cough upstairs. I swallowed. My parents and my mom's sister were sitting on the couch opposite me waiting for an answer. "Look," I began, "I can't… explain how this all happened-"

"You damn well better try," my dad snapped.

I jumped at his tone. I was beyond screwed if I didn't tell them fast.

Then, I heard someone clear their throat. It was loud enough for us all to hear. My parents and aunt immediately looked at the stairwell. "Is someone upstairs?" Aunt Martha asked.

I bit my lip. My dad quickly flew up from his seat and marched over to the stairs. He stopped right as his foot was on the second stair and his head turned to look up at the second floor.

I could only imagine what he was looking at. I face-palmed myself.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7

My dad turned around to look at me. I finished my incomplete sentence, "-but it would be better if I just, um, showed you." I smiled sheepishly. I didn't know if I was royally screwed or what.

He looked taken aback. "Honey?" my mom asked, "What's up there?"

"What isn't up there," he said. My dad was just staring at me. I chewed my lip.

"Um, Andi? Does this mean we can come down now?" I heard Griff ask. I let a defeated sigh. "Yeah, come down," I called out to them. Soon, my living room was filled with the Red versus Blue crew, MaleShep, Tali, Garrus, Ezio, and Yusuf. I heard the door open and we all turned to see FemShep enter, along with Agent Carolina and Alex. My mom looked lost but my dad was looking at each character.

I saw Church move around my dad to me. "Hey, um, why is he staring at us?" Church asked.

"He's just… um…" I laughed a little uneasily. My mom and her sister looked at me, silently demanding an explanation. "Who are these people?" my mom asked me. My game friends stood in the stairwell awkwardly.

I began to tell my family what had taken place three days ago. It sounded a bit farfetched but they listened attentively, occasionally asking questions. When I had mentioned the part where Marcus, my stupid-ass ex-boyfriend, my voice faltered a little at the memory. I saw Ezio shift his weight slightly.

I gave him a pained smile. My dad saw the quiet exchange and questioned me. I drew in a breath, bit my lip and exhaled. I quickly explained what had happened. I watched my dad bristle as I told them what he tried to do. Then, I added in that Ezio basically threw him out of the house and made sure he didn't try to come back in.

_Probably because he was scared shitless_, I added in my thoughts and laughed a little. My dad relaxed slightly and I continued. I winced a little when I mentioned the L.A. situation. My mom glared at me for running off recklessly to take down a powerful man. "Thank YOU!" Carolina exclaimed. My parents jumped at the sound of her voice; they had forgotten that they were there.

My mom regarded Carolina uneasily. "So, there you have it," I finished. My parents were quiet for a moment.

"That's… a very interesting story," my mom said at last.

I gaped at her. "Do you not believe me?" I asked her. She gave me a look. "Of course I believe you, honey. It's just…" she trailed off and waved her hand in the air. I raised an eyebrow and stood up.

"Look, honey," my mom started, "These people can't stay here. The house isn't big enough to hold seventeen people."

"What?" I exclaimed. This house was big enough to hold twice that number, maybe even triple. She just didn't want a whole bunch of people in her house. I could see where she was coming from but still. "Well, where will they stay?" I asked her.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Can't you just turn on the TV, insert the game disc, and have them pop right back in?" she asked. I started to laugh. "Uh, no. I can't, Mom. That's what I've been trying to tell you. I'm trying to help them out by taking down these evil bad guys. Once they're gone, I'm sure my friends will be able to head back into their games," I explained.

"Andi, they can't stay here," she said with finality.

"Well, then I'm sure I can head over to Connie's house," I said, naming one of my cousins who lives about twenty minutes away.

"What? No!" my mom said.

"Come on! Where else can they stay then? Besides, Connie's away in Europe. For a whole month. I'm sure she won't mind if we crash at her place for the rest of my winter break."

"What happens then if your break ends too soon? And you can't help them take down these so-called 'evil guys'?" my mom put in.

"These men are not 'so-called," shot in FemShep, "They are very real." My mom turned and looked at the Commander.

"Well, then why haven't we heard anything about these power-mad maniacs on the news?" my mom asked them.

"Because: A. you haven't turned the TV on or B. they've paid off the media," I said. My mom glared at me. I shrugged. She was about to say something else when the door to the living room caved in with a bang. There was a series of shouts and numerous pairs of feet stomped in. Men and women in white, gray, and orange armored suits filed into the living room. All guns trained on us. All of them bore the same geometrical symbol: "Cerberus," I breathed.

"Good, glad you know us," one of them jeered at me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" demanded MaleShep.

"This kid caught the attention of the Illusive Man and he wants to see her right away," said another Cerberus operative.

"Well, that isn't happening," I snapped.

"He wasn't asking," growled the operative.

The Cerberus operative moved towards me. I clenched my hands; I knew I wasn't a match for a highly trained soldier, but I was NOT going willingly with these guys. Before it came to that, Yusuf quickly sprang forward and placed himself between me and the soldier. The soldier tightened his grip on his gun.

"Move," he ordered Yusuf.

"Listen," Yusuf began with his hands up, "Can't we do this peacefully? Minimal bloodshed?"

I gave my Turkish friend a look. My parents and aunt were watching us warily. The soldier eyed Yusuf suspiciously and gave him a questioning nod.

"The girl here-" Yusuf turned around to place a hand on my shoulder "—hasn't been able to change out of her clothes or bathe. Would at least give her that luxury before hauling her off to God knows where?"

The solider threw a look back over at his superior who nodded. "Fine," said the soldier in front of us, "But make it quick."

I bit my lip and looked at Yusuf. He nodded his head in the direction of the stairs. I rolled my eyes and hesitantly walked over there. The soldier followed behind me. I looked at him. "Just making sure you don't run off," he said simply.

Alex who was still standing next to the door detached himself from the wall right as I set my foot on the first step. The soldier immediately focused on him. Alex watched with a cool, detached look before taking two more steps. "Freeze!" the soldier bellowed. I raised an eye at Alex. "Don't think I'm leaving you alone with her," Alex said.

"Excuse me?" the soldier replied still blocking Alex. "Let me by," Alex said, "If you don't, it's going to get pretty ugly." The soldier tightened his grip on his gun. Alex watched the other man's movements.

"That's not going to stop me," he said nonchalantly.

"Um, I'm just gonna head up to change 'cause I highly doubt the Illusive Man would want me to stink up his office," I said weakly. I glanced over my parents who were watching me with stricken looks. I saw Carolina and MaleShep smile and nod at me. If things got out of hand, they'd protect my family. I bit my lip and turned to walk upstairs, followed closely behind by Alex and the Cerberus soldier.

I stopped at the bathroom door before turning to face the soldier. "If your men so much as scratch my parents and aunt, you will wish you never came here. Get me?" I growled. The soldier cocked his head to the side and started laughing. "I'd believe you if you could back that threat up," he chuckled.

"Back this up, bitch," I replied and kicked his chest. He lost his balance and tumbled head over heels down the stairs. "Hurry!" Alex hissed as I threw open the bathroom door. I saw Alex knock a few more soldiers down the stairs before pushing past me into the bathroom. I quickly changed into a t-shirt and a pair of jeans I had stored there.

Then, Alex stood in front of me. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed at him. "Improvising," he replied before placing his hands on my shoulders. I was about to say something when I saw his form contort and grow smaller till he was about my height. For a moment I thought I was looking in a mirror until my "reflection" spoke in my voice.

"We don't have that much time. Change quickly and slip out the back and we'll meet you over at the other house," he said.

"Wait, you don't have directions," I said then Alex tapped the side of his head. I balked at him. He had gotten the directions from my memory.

"Sorry, but I had to. Using a phone would allow them to trace us."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that you just took a part of my memory," I countered.

Alex groaned. "Look, I'll distract them long enough for the others to get your parents out," he said. A series of pounding knocks caused us to stare at door. "Hey! Open up!" yelled a Cerberus operative.

"Shit," I muttered as I grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out from under the sink and proceeded to strip quickly, ignoring the fact that Mercer was standing right there. Alex was kind enough to look away.

"Go," Alex whispered as soon as I was done and nodded towards the bathroom window that led outside. I hopped onto the sink while the Cerberus operative kept banging on the door. I picked off the screen and crouched out onto the eave that overlooked the backyard. Alex shut and locked the window behind me just as I heard the door broken down. I carefully walked on the eave until I was able to drop down safely. I glanced around quickly until I saw my old running shoes which I promptly slipped on. Running in heels would be way too difficult for me. I spotted my bike by the gate that led out to the driveway, but getting over to it would mean that I'd have to cross the grass that was in front of the slider where everyone could see me.

Knowing my options were narrowing every second I wasted standing there, I ran doubled over to my bike, just hoping I wouldn't be seen. I reached my bike and was in the process of pulling it out when I heard the sound of glass crashing to the ground behind me. I turned around and saw two Cerberus operatives aiming their guns at me and I hopped onto my bike and sped off onto the nearest trail head.

I nearly fell off a few moments on the trail; close encounter with a tree that seemed to appear out of nowhere. I glanced back and saw several Cerberus operatives hot on my tail.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," I breathed and pedaled as fast as I could. An uphill disrupted the trail, which sucked ass, but I was grateful for the down hill part. I flattened myself on my bike as I reached the top. My bike picked up speed and I rushed down the hill with the wind whipping in my face. What I didn't see till the last second was a mini boulder that was sticking out halfway in the trail. I tried to swerve out of the way but my front tire still hit it. I flew over the handle bars and crashed to the ground hard on my back. I coughed for a moment, trying to catch my breath. I glanced back and heard the Cerberus soldiers' footsteps.

I had no time to hide my bike, so I scuffed up the trail as best I could and ran a bit farther down the trail to lose them. I climbed into the nearest tree and hid far up in the branches. Not too long after the Cerberus troops passed under my tree.

"Shit, where'd she go?" asked one.

"How the hell should I know?" replied another.

"The Illusive Man will be pissed if we don't find her. She couldn't have gotten far." They took off down another trail that led far away from my cousin's house. I waited another few minutes before climbing back


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8  
I landed with a slight oomph!, stepped backwards on a rock, and nearly lost my balance when a hand wrapped around my forearm. Thinking one of the Cerberus troopers had stayed behind, I spun around with my other fist, aiming for a head that... somehow wasn't there when I spun around. The hand on my arm was gone and I looked down to see Yusuf flat on his ass. I stifled my laughter as best I could and helped him up.  
"Sorry, I thought you were someone else," I said brushing bits of leaves off my clothes.  
"It's alright. I get that all the time," Yusuf replied smiling. I walked over to my bike and righted it.  
"Sure ya do," I said, grunting a little from lifting my bike up. "How's everyone back at the house?" I asked, settling on my bike and checking if it sustained any damage from my fall; it didn't.  
"Scattered. Your family is safe and will meet us later at your cousins. That- Alex was it?- already gave out directions to the others so they know where to meet us."  
"Ah, okay. Sorry about taking off like that."  
"No worries. Besides, I think that threw off those men. They did not expect you to leave."  
"I'm betting they were even more thrown off when they opened the door and saw that 'I'"- I finger quoted- "was still there. Pretty sure Alex gave 'em a run for their money."  
"That... was a bit unsettling."  
"I can imagine." The breeze picked up, lifting a few leaves off the ground.  
"It's going to be a long night," I muttered.  
"We'll do what we can to hold out," Yusuf replied, sounding ominous. I stared at him.  
"You think there's going to be a fight?"  
"Maybe not now. But soon. Very soon." I so did not like the sound of that.  
"I need to head back. Are you capable of going on by yourself?" he asked.  
"Yeah... I mean, yes," I replied, trying to sound more confident. I didn't fancy meeting those troopers again.  
"I know the trail system pretty well. If I see them, there's bound to be a couple forks in the road that I can lose them at," I said.  
"Be careful you don't get lost yourself."  
"I won't," I replied, sounding a little offended. Yusuf mouth straightened in a slightly thin line. I rolled my eyes and pushed off on my bike.  
"See you when I see ya," I called over my shoulder. I turned my head slightly back and saw him raise his hand before turning around and taking off in the opposite direction. I turned my attention back to the trails. I didn't want to fall again.

I only ran into the soldiers once. For some stupid reason I wasn't paying attention, zoning out was more like it, and looked up to see white and black armor in front of me. I was also riding pretty fast and slammed on brakes, skidding a few feet before coming to a stop. I glanced around quickly and spotted a trail that branched off into a slightly worn path obscured by tall grass and flowers. If I kept low over the bike and pedalled as quietly as I could I should get by. I turned my bike around as carefully as I could and pedalled softly over to the path that would keep me safe from prying eyes.  
I doubled over on the bike and pedaled quietly, swearing softly whenever my foot slipped off the pedal or bike suddenly swerved when I hit a patch of sand. I raised my eyes up and looked across through the grass that kept me hidden to keep an eye on the troopers' progress. They looked a little lost. Couldn't really blame them since they're thrown from twenty-second century vide game to twenty-first century reality where everything's stuck on the ground. My hair kept falling into my face enough that I pulled it into a half assed ponytail and got back to riding.  
Where're all the hikers? I thought as I followed the path down to my cousin's house. I glanced at my phone then I remembered I had to turn it off to prevent anyone from tracking me. I glanced up into the sky and estimated that it was about 6:30 p.m. There was still enough light to see by and I normally spotted people out walking around on the trails at this time. Maybe those dick heads scared them off, I thought bitterly. God! How the hell did I get myself into this situation? All I asked for was a not boring break! I didn't want to have to save the world on top of keeping the house from burning down!  
Farther ahead the trail branched off into two directions: one continuing straight while the other turned into a sick downhill. I took the downhill since it would get me to my cousin's house a lot quicker. I pedaled faster and hit the hill at top speed. I flew down the trail pretty fast and made it to my destination in record timing. The garage door was open and I could hear voices from within the house. My cousin's house looked like a mountain home complete with a loft on the third floor and a balcony on the second. Already I spotted Grif, Church, and Simmons hanging around on the balcony. Mercer was chilling on the roof. Voices suddenly shot up in rage. I could hear the TV on.  
Game's probably on or something, I thought as I parked my bike in the garage and walked in. I slipped off my running shoes (which were killing my feet) and walked in barefoot. The cold hardwood floors felt good on my aching feet. Conversation from the kitchen drifted over to me.  
"... safe now. Just wish we could those idiots in the den quiet." Carolina, I thought. She sounded less than pleased.  
"Are you sure those... soldiers won't find us again?" My aunt this time. She sounded scared which was understandable.  
"Pretty sure. We'll set up a perimeter around the house and on the trails to make sure we aren't taken by suprise as we were last time," Carolina replied, "Switch guards up every two to four hours or so just to be a little unpredictable." Another shout sounded from the den. I could hear Carolina growl and her footsteps receded.  
"How many times do I have to tell you two? We're not on vacation!" she snapped. I leaned a little to the right and glanced around one of the walls to see Carolina yelling at Tucker and Sarge. I snickered a little and spotted my dad leaning against a wall people-watching. He saw me come in and detached himself from the wall and walked over to me. I hugged him hard. I received a crushing bear hug in return.  
"Ah-! Dad- you're... Can't breathe," I managed to say. I heard him laugh when he released me.  
"Couldn't help it," he replied, smiling. The side of my face lifted up in response.  
"Trip here okay?" I asked him.  
"It was fine if you call being shot out by fictional characters fine." I snorted.  
"I'm just glad a reaper hasn't shown up yet," I said with small relief. My father nodded in reply and turned to watch Sarge get up from his seat and turn down the volume. Tucker flipped off when her back was turned. She spun around suddenly but, luckily, Tucker already had his hand down as if he anticipated her move. She shook her head at him and walked over to talk to Femshep.  
"Everyone made it in one piece, although your aunt passed out in the back seat when that Alex fellow changed from you to him in front of her. Pretty sure he didn't it on purpose but then again she was freaking out, which was understandable at the moment but she was making a big fuss by refusing to get into the car with - Carolina was it?- when Alex walked over and changed," my dad explained.  
"Damn," I replied laughing. He shot me a look.  
"Dang. Meant dang," I said quietly, cowering a little under his gaze. Fictional characters were on the loose, we had a major rogue military faction after us, and my dad was getting pissed at me for swearing. Of all the things he could get mad at! Guess old habits die hard.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9

As night fell over the complex, voices inside the house dimmed. Cool winter air washed over me as I stood outside, a bit apprehensive about the coming night. I heard the door open and close behind me. Soft footsteps padded over to where I stood. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Enjoying the twenty first century?" I asked him.

"A bit. Everything seems so fast paced. It's a bit overwhelming. Technology has come far. Leonardo would love this," Ezio replied.

"That he would," I murmured. I shifted my weight onto my other foot before continuing, "The only thing I don't like about all this tech is the light pollution. You can't see the stars unless you go up to the mountains or into the desert."

A sudden phrase popped into my head: We work in the dark to serve the light... Without one the other can't exist. I shook my head as if swatting away pesky flies.

"Hey," I said. Ezio turned to look at me. "Thanks for not stabbing me to death when we first met," I continued, smiling.

Ezio chuckled. "_Di niente_," he replied. "You're welcome," he translated after seeing my slightly puzzled expression. I snorted.

"We should probably head inside," Ezio said after a few silent moments.

"Yeah, we probably should." We don't move for a couple seconds when we should have. A sudden thunderclap of noise assaulted my ears. It sounded really close and I wasn't wearing the proper ear protection. When my ears finally unclogged and all I was left with was a bit of ringing, my brain finally registered what the thunderclap actually was: a gunshot. I panicked and looked over at Ezio who was clutching his chest. Fifteenth-century armor had nothing against this new type of tech. My heart clenched. He stumbled forward and fell into me.

_No... No! This can't be happening! It'll... It'll just be like when you get desynchronized in the animus. He'll be alright... He'll be fine,_ I thought as the old master assassin lay in my arms. No. This was nothing like in the animus. The blood was too real. I could feel it leaking out of him. I was dimly aware of the commotion going on inside the house. He looked at me and took hold of one of my hands. This was too real. Fuck...

I held onto his own weathered paw. Slick with warm blood. Held onto it until his eyes closed and his breathing stopped. My heart seemed to stop for a moment. The whole world felt frozen in time. Then, his body started to disintegrate right before my eyes. Until there was nothing left. Nothing except his hookblade. My hands clenched on thin air. I had practically grown up with this man. Known him through his assassin brother, Altair. Watched him and helped him through the struggles in his new life that he was thrust into. Now there was nothing left to show for. All that was left of him was the blood on my hand and on my pants. And the hookblade.

Suddenly, I heard slow, measured steps just a few feet behind me. Cocky. Sure.

"Well, that was a bit dramatic, wasn't it?" I looked up at the space in front of me, dread pooling in my stomach, before turning around. There, just a hundred feet away in a new combat suit and weapons, stood, my now-ex and totally fucked boyfriend, Marcus.

No thoughts ran through my head. No questions. No "why?" No "how?" Nothing. Only pure rage. I was utterly pissed off. I was on my feet within milliseconds. I literally jumped out of my sandals and floored it, barefoot and charged at the dickwad in front me. His cocky expression fell from his face when he saw mine. I was going to murder his ass.

Arms of steel wrapped around me, pinning my own arms against me. I screamed in rage as Marcus took off down the street. "Let me FUCKING go!" I howled. We were lucky we weren't near any neighbors. My cousin's house from a few miles away from the nearest residential street so no one could hear my howls of rage. Or the bullet that killed my friend.

I flailed my legs, kicking at anything and everything. It was Mercer who was holding me back. I couldn't hurt him. Not really. A flash of bright blue flew past us. Carolina. She reached Marcus before he reached the end of the street. She slung him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. I slowed my flailing by the time Carolina came over to us. Marcus was squirming around in her grip but, like Mercer's, her grip was made of steel. The Spartan flung him back over to where he landed flat on his ass. He stood, brushing himself and looked around. Everyone was outside. He had nowhere to go. His gaze met mine as Alex set me down.

I punched Marcus right in the face. As hard as I could, channeling all my anger at him. He fell back down again.

"Fucking hell, Andi!" he yelled.

"He told you to leave," I said calmly, coldly, "To. Never. Come. Back."

"You know I don't always listen," he replied like the dickass that he was. I punched him again. I didn't care that my hand was hurting like a bitch. I didn't care that everyone was watching me. Who the fuck cares? I wanted answers and I wanted them NOW. Mercer hovered at my side.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to punch him again," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. It sounded more desperate and maniacal, if you asked me. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. I bent down and picked up the hookblade.

"Get him inside and tied to chair," I said, examining the hookblade, "He's not leaving until he answers every last one of our questions." And by "our" questions I meant mine. I may have sounded remotely calm after my mental breakdown but inside I was shaking. Badly. Carolina obliged by grabbing hold of Marcus' arm and hauling him to his feet and practically dragging him into his house.

My mother and father stood by the door to the garage watching me. I had felt something in me snap. What were they thinking of me now? Did my mom think that I had grown too attached to fictional characters and finally lost it? Did they think that my tiny... well, maybe not tiny... my somewhat medium-small obsession with video games had gone too far? Maybe it had... Hell, I don't know. What they would never get is the connection I make with the characters I interact with every time I pop in a new game. The bond that makes those characters feel alive (now more than usual). Did they think me a lost cause?


End file.
